Nothing Casual
by My Life Craves Pirates
Summary: Jeff Hardy notices a lot that goes on in the WWE. John Morrison thinks he's overlooking the important things. after the 2009 draft, John ends up closer to Jeff than ever before, and presented with the most opportune moments to help him open his eyes. COMPLETE.
1. Jeff Hardy

**6.13.10 EDIT **rewatched some videos on youtube and fixed the chronological order of events in my story, that just so happens i messed up a little. everything should be correct now. if not, please let me know.  
So if you were to look at my archive right now, you would see all stories with at least one OC in it. It has recently come to light that I am otherwise incapable of writing fanfiction with no OCs, or writing about a fandom as is. Well I'm going to change that!  
**Summary:** Jeff Hardy notices a lot that goes on in the WWE and Smackdown. John Morrison thinks he's overlooking the important things. Following the 2009 draft, John decides that the timing is just right to stat playing a game with Jeff. It's a good use of time, interesting to watch, and if you play your cards just right, then everyone wins. It's a lot of fun, but who is it fun for? Jeff's about to find out.  
**Warnings:** NO OCS! Wooo! But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy some slashy goodness. Angsty slash, implied or otherwise. Fourth-wall breaking throughout. Random bits of humor that are probably not very funny at all. Language.  
**Pairing: **eventual Jeff HardyxJohn Morrison  
**Notes:** I might be missing some stuff. Also, events may or may not be in chronological order. If not, please let me know and tell me how to correct it. this may be a two-shot, maybe longer. We'll see how it goes.  
**Disclaimers:** I don't own anything. WWE and Smackdown and everything WWE-related including all wrestlers mentioned belong to Vince McMahon.  
**Copyright:**but it seems that I do own this story. And as such, stealing is a no-no. So…  
**Nothing Casual © My Life Craves Pirates 2010-?**

**Nothing Casual  
****by My Life Craves Pirates**

**Chapter 1: jeff hardy**

Jeff had never really been in to the Divas. Some people would ask him why, on occasion, and he wouldn't give them an answer. He thought it was pretty self-explanatory. They were _Divas_. Sassy little toothpicks, nothing but trouble, that's what they were. He knew it, everyone else knew it. And yet some people manage to seem surprised when their relationship with a Diva eventually fails oh so horribly.

It was no surprise to Jeff Hardy.

The little love spat with Trish Stratus he had way back in 2003? That was for television purposes only, pretty much. Jeff had been approached by a member of the creative team, saying that he needed more on-screen appeal. He had disagreed with him at the time, but was in no position to argue his point.

It was a shame. Really.

He didn't like Trish, but he didn't _not_ like her either. He just would have rather that the storyline had never happened. He wasn't in to Divas, but he didn't _hate_ them. He just thought it was better not to get involved, on-screen or otherwise. He was better off that way.

So why complicate things?

And poor Matt. Four years with Amy "Lita," and it ended extremely unpleasantly when Adam "Edge" had decided to get involved. His brother was still feeling it. Five years later, he was still feeling the hurt, and he knew that. It burned him to the core just to look at Adam's face. Fighting with him in the ring took more self-restraint and -control than he normally used. Sometimes, Jeff surprised himself with how well he was able to keep himself from pummeling Adam beyond the safety realm. He wanted to help Matt. Even after Amy retired on account of the fans harassing her for betraying Matt, he wanted to help him. Matt had simply pushed the idea aside.

The Divas were nothing but trouble. Not that some Superstars couldn't be, also.

Jeff was a popular Superstar, he knew that. Every time he did public appearances, Fan Axxes, or even when he was just walking to his hotel after shows, he had hoards of fangirls throwing themselves at him. He was constantly hearing rumors that _this_ Diva liked him, or _that_ Diva liked him.

No, thanks. Beth Britt will do just fine.

Someone once asked him that if he had ruled out Divas, did that also mean that he had ruled out everyone else too?

Jeff just stared at him, perplexed. Who else _was_ there? He didn't know how to answer, so he didn't. On occasion he would recall that question and deliberate. A wild idea crossed his mind once, but he quickly pushed it aside, saying that it was positively absurd. Nothing else made sense to him, so he officially abandoned the question for good.

A lot of Superstars seemed to disagree with him on a number of issues, in more ways than one. Even off-screen he found himself being sassed by storyline enemies. Maybe they were just method acting, who knew. It wasn't a very nice reaction to have to face and deal with, but you can't please everyone. The WWE, and professional wrestling in general, was a tough occupation to get by in.

So it goes.

Back in 2006, he had been put into a storyline feud with Johnny Nitro. It was a very love/hate storyline, in his opinion. On one hand, he got to tag team with Matt and Lita against Nitro's stable MNM. That was always a lot of fun. The energy, the suspense, and the vigor created by that feud were downright unreal at times. The energy and adrenaline mixed with the support of the fans was intoxicating. But on the other hand, it was a vicious storyline, and he found himself being constantly harassed by all three members of MNM. But then Joey Mercury left in 2007, and a while later, Melina and Nitro broke up and she went on to pursue the Women's Championship. And just like that, the late, great stable of MNM just…left him alone. Or what was left of it, rather.

It was probably better like that.

Jeff had been thrown into multiple other feuds since the downfall of MNM. On occasion, he would see Nitro around backstage or in the locker rooms. Prior to teaming up with The Miz, he changed his name to John Morrison. And for the longest time, Jeff didn't like him.

Well, that's show biz.

It was interesting, he found, that the wrestlers would tend to mimic their Superstar gimmicks. Jeff never really noticed this in himself, since his gimmick was essentially his off-screen personality. But once Morrison and Miz split up and went to different WWE brands, he quickly became…almost tolerable. It was a comforting thought, to say in the least.

Morrison was moved onto Smackdown following the 2009 draft. Jeff himself was already on Smackdown, and thought that no good would come with the arrival of John Morrison. But turns out that he was too occupied with other storylines to care about what Morrison was up to. The creative team later decided that it would be a great idea to make Jeff and Matt feud with each other. Jeff was apprehensive to begin with, but both he and Matt concurred that it was just entertainment, and that the storyline, heavy and dark as it was, was probably a good idea. They both mutually agreed that no matter how many times Matt dropped a leg across Jeff's throat, no matter how many times Jeff wailed on him, they would go home at the end of the day, battered and bruised and laughing about it.

Having Matt for an older brother was nice.

On occasion, Jeff would see Morrison around backstage or in the locker rooms. He no longer got the icy glares, the cold shoulders, or snide remarks that he would get from Johnny Nitro. John Morrison simply let him be. It wasn't really that Morrison was still being an asshole, but it seemed like he was adjusting to being on Smackdown, from being pried away from possibly one of the best friends he'd ever had. But in Jeff's opinion, Morrison was better off without Miz.

Not that he spent much time thinking about it, now.

But things started shaping up for Morrison. It really showed through in his off-screen behavior. He was more decent to people, listened to directions, and even conversed with people whenever he could. He was being a friendly guy, and it made for a much less tense working environment.

But when it came to Jeff Hardy, he still just let him be.

For the most part, John Morrison was a good guy. He seemed better off that way. But with the face turn of John Morrison, it seemed that Smackdown was in severe lack of assholes. So in storyline, CM Punk took a violent heel turn and turned on Jeff. Backstage, Punk's personality didn't change much, so it was refreshing to see at least one person resisting the vices of their alter egos for once.

While Punk didn't change much personality wise off-screen, on-screen he was a real horror show. Jeff had won the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge at Extreme Rules. Wrestlemania 25 Money in the Bank winner CM Punk cashed in on Jeff and took the title from him about two minutes after he had won it. From there on, Jeff and Punk entered into an intense feud. Backstage, Punk was still Phil Brooks, but the feud took its toll on Jeff.

There were some younger Superstars in the locker rooms that didn't like Jeff very much. On-screen, Vince McMahon didn't seem to like him either, and he retained that same attitude backstage. Whether he was method acting or just really didn't like him, Jeff didn't know.

But Vince _did_ like CM Punk. Punk was straight-edge, which made him a good role model. Even when Vince decided to use that to enhance his heel status, he was a good role model. Even when he used Punk to exploit Jeff's shady history of drug abuse, he was a good role model. Even though Jeff was a fan favorite and Punk wasn't, he was a good role model.

Vince made a point of showing everyone that he didn't like Jeff Hardy. Jeff was put into a match against Punk, and when Jeff lost, Punk went to town on him. He had wrapped a steel folding chair around Jeff's head and then shoved him, chair and all, into one of the ring posts. Jeff could feel the chair close around his neck, he could feel the air leave his body, and he could feel his neck snapping in half.

Well, that's what it felt like, anyway.

Jeff had to be stretchered out of the arena with a brace around his neck. As he was being moved out, he wondered to himself: The number one policy of the WWE was the safety of the wrestlers above anything else. So it didn't make sense to be neck braced and stretchered out of the arena like he was.

After his heel turn, Punk didn't change much backstage. But later on, Jeff heard through the grapevine that the chair incident was Punk's idea.

The following week, Vince put Jeff in another match, against doctors' orders. Jeff couldn't move very well thanks to his neck injury, but that didn't mean he couldn't be in a handicap match and that the Hart Dynasty had to go easy on him. Jeff lost the match rather badly, which wasn't a surprise to most people watching. After the match, CM Punk came down to the ring to ensue a beatdown. It was much more injury than Jeff wanted or needed. He already had a neck injury, and Vince had already exploited it. Punk and the Hart Dynasty had suddenly turned into Vince's cronies, and the line between scripted and real was quickly becoming blurred. Punk was looking to tear him apart.

And then John Morrison intervened.

He fought off the three antagonists as best he could while Jeff was still in a pained daze. CM Punk wouldn't have it. He soon joined back in the brawl and turned the tables on Morrison, allowing the Hart Dynasty to take him out. With that being done and out of the way, Punk turned his attention back to Jeff. Again the chair came out, and again it was placed around his neck. Jeff was helpless. He tried to struggle against Punk, but was in so much pain he couldn't even see straight. He wondered, when Punk eventually would shove him into the ring post again, if his neck would actually break this time.

Matt Hardy made an unexpected face turn when he ran down to the ring to save Jeff from Punk's malicious deeds. Oh right, he forgot about that.

The Hart Dynasty and CM Punk were fended off and retreated as Matt and Morrison stayed behind to check on Jeff. He was fine, for the most part, but now considered his previous worries silly. He had known that Matt was turning face. In fact, he was the first person Matt had told when he first found out. Matt's seemingly unexpected act of heroism was scripted.

But John Morrison's wasn't.

It puzzled him and he wondered about it for the longest time, but somehow never managed to bring himself to confront John about it. He was grateful he helped to save him, and he made a point of talking about him as "John" now instead of "Morrison." John knew he was grateful and that was good enough.

On one occasion, he had actually asked Matt to confront John for him. It irritated and almost embarrassed him that the issue bothered him so much as to make him revert to a kindergarten-like personality just to avoid John. Naturally, Matt refused, and reminded him that he was acting like a five-year-old girl. Not that he needed reminding.

He didn't even know why the matter was bothering him at all. John helped to _save_ him without being told, and he was grateful that he did. Maybe it was because John had recently turned face after being heel for so long, and that the sudden change in WWE standings had affected his moral judgment and actions. Maybe it was because being on the same brand as Jeff again, but now as a face, made him rethink the way he viewed him. Maybe he just was making up for being an asshole to him back on Raw. On one hand, Jeff appreciated it. On the other hand, the suddenness of his unprompted backstage face turn made him just a little bit uncomfortable, suspicious, and apprehensive.

On occasion, Jeff would see John around backstage or in the locker rooms. Every time they were in the same general area as each other, John would manage to catch Jeff's eye. He would stare at the enigma for a while, smirk, and then go about his business. Jeff was more confused than ever. In addition to frequent eye contact, Jeff would run in to John backstage more often now. He wouldn't even say anything, or make an attempt to strike up a conversation. It was just eye contact, staring, smirking, maybe a small "Hey," and then that was it. The more Jeff's expression said that he was confused, the more John seemed like he was enjoying it.

It was eerie.

There was no way this was just a coincidence. All of this, _everything_ had to be related. John didn't start acting nice to him until long after he moved on to Smackdown and attempted to save him from the Hart Dynasty, and even _that_ was unexpected. John's sudden change in attitude towards him was no coincidence. And why did it only start _after_ he began his feud with Punk? _After_ the Hart Dynasty tried to take him out? Why had he been given a cold shoulder up until then?

Why. _Then?_

Matt refused to believe that this was a conspiracy of sorts. Not that Jeff used those words exactly, now.

It might have been because of the face turn. It might have been that he didn't start acting nice to him until the Punk Chair incident because he was still warming up to him, adjusting to being a face on Smackdown. Jeff didn't know. Every plausible, feasible, logical, rational answer he could think of, he considered. Some answers fit, some didn't. So he deliberated the hardest on the ones that did. But still he wasn't convinced.

Matt insisted that he was thinking too hard about it. He reminded him again that he was acting like a five-year-old girl and told him to just man up and ask John himself.

"He's not a bad guy anymore, you know?" Matt said. "Like, _I'm_ convinced. I don't know what the hell _your_ problem is."

Well, thanks, Matt.

He couldn't really expect Matt to understand what he was going through. The John-being-weird situation was happening to _him_, not Matt. But there was also the ever present "obvious" answer, as Matt called it, that Jeff was just being a paranoid prick. Jeff and John went through quite a lot of shit during their Raw feuding days, so it made sense to him to be wary, if he was indeed just being a paranoid prick.

And he more he thought about it, the more that answer started to make sense. To say that he was feeling stupid right now would be an understatement.

Matt was pleased, if not proud, when Jeff told him that he was going to take his advice and man up. Matt looked a little bit accomplished, maybe a bit smug. Jeff almost smacked him.

"Yeah, whatever," Matt said. "Tell me how it goes."

And now he was on his own.

Given by what he had been experiencing since the Hart Dynasty beat down, he doubted it would be hard to find John. Tapings for Smackdown hadn't begun yet, so he should be free to talk right now. He tried to dwell on the positive and rational aspects of his situation and tried to convince himself that Matt was probably right.

He couldn't say that he _wanted_ to find John and talk to him, that he was whole-heartedly in to this search. But he knew that if he didn't get this out of the way, he'd be griping about it for forever and Matt would never leave him alone. He was probably telling Beth right now about what a sniveling little girl her boyfriend's become recently. Oh, _that_ would be fun to explain to her.

Thanks again, Matt.

He didn't really want to talk to John, but it was a good thing he was at least making an effort. So he was slightly disappointed when he found himself circling the backstage halls fifteen minutes later and John was still no where to be found.

"That's so typical," he muttered. "When you _don't_ want to see him, he's there. When you _do_ want to see him, suddenly he vanishes. What the fuck, man."

Normally he wouldn't have been bothered by this setback, but the disappointment that came with the anxiety being shot down couldn't be ignored. He had braced himself, thought about what he was going to say and everything. How the hell could John be missing after he went through all that trouble?

He soon resorted to asking around if anyone had seen him. About five minutes later, and so such luck could be had.

It was pretty irritating, to say in the least. But at least he had made an effort.

"Man, this sucks."

He decided to head over to the green room. That place was always stocked with assorted bits of food and stuff before shows. He was after a cup of coffee, and the green room was the place to get it. It was less formal and less crowded than catering. It was nice, really.

The green room was actually empty this time, which was also nice. The coffee pot was fresh and full, and just a bit comforting. He filled a styrofoam cup with coffee and stood by the table for a while, staring at the wall. He was deliberating on his odd situation, not quite sure where to go from here.

"Heard you were looking for me."

Well, so much for that problem.

Jeff inhaled deeply and then took a sip of coffee. The disappointment was gone and the anxiety was starting to sink in again. He had to remind himself that John was mostly harmless and that his worries were probably naught. He took another sip of coffee. It was kind of calming.

"Only about, like, twenty minutes ago," he said, turning around. John Morrison was standing in the doorway of the green room, one hand in his pocket and the other propped up against the door. He was wearing his sunglasses, which was slightly uncharacteristic of him to be wearing them indoors when he wasn't getting ready for a match. But then again, he didn't exactly know him that well, so who was he to say what was characteristic of him or not?

"Well, I'm here now," John said, holding out a hand. "What's up?"

"You tell me," Jeff answered. "It's been on my mind for just, the longest time, man, and I know you mean well, I'm grateful you helped save me from the Hart Dynasty, and you know that, I know you do. But I can't help but question your timing."

"My timing?" John inquired. "Jeff, you're acting like what I did was a bad thing."

"In what way?" he retorted. "I told you I was grateful, didn't I? My problem is, why did you at one point come to Smackdown and act like I didn't exist, while acting like a nice guy to everyone else, and then suddenly start doing spontaneous things like save me from a scripted beat down and then show up everywhere I go?"

John shrugged slightly. "Maybe I was just waiting for the right moment to pull the good-guy move on you. The beat down was scripted, but my interference wasn't. What does that tell you about me?"

Jeff deliberated. "You know, back on Raw, you were a real asshole, even off-screen. I think you're making up for that."

John paused before reaching up to remove his sunglasses. His eyes were surprisingly dark and filled with an emotion he couldn't discern. "I think you're overlooking things."

Jeff was cast into another wave of confusion, but before he could ask him to clarify on his statement, John pushed himself away from the doorframe and walked off. So now he was stuck in a room by himself, holding a cup of coffee he didn't even want anymore, left with more questions than he started with and no answers to relieve him.

Life sucked.

But then again, he already knew that.

**.xXx.**

The next time they met up, Jeff thanked Matt again for not helping to solve anything. He told him what happened, his frustrations, the complications, and John's ultimate answer. Matt was pretty confused also, and Jeff was still fairly angry.

"I went through all that just to find out that he's being faux-nice?"

"Oh stop," Matt sighed. "You really didn't go through that much. Your reaction and the way you keep spazzing out about it is making it seem like it's a big deal. Also, I don't think he's being faux-nice. He's nice to everyone else, isn't he?"

"Okay, but what about _me_?" Jeff stressed. "He's genuinely nice to everyone _but_ me. What's up with that?"

"He voluntarily saved you from a beatdown, Jeff. That sounds nice to me."

"Yeah, I know. But what about being a dick to me every chance he got up until the beatdown?"

Matt thoughtfully placed a hand on his chin and was silent for a while. "He said you were overlooking things. That probably means you're thinking too hard. Which is exactly what _I've_ been telling you since the start, but _no_, you have to hear it from some sparkly pantsed pretty boy first before you'll believe it."

"No offense, Matt."

Matt gave him an over-exaggerated sigh. "None taken, I suppose."

"So what now?"

He shrugged. "Just wait and see what happens, I guess. Given by what you were able to get out of him by talking to him, I'd say that's all you _can_ do. Unless of course, you want to talk to him again."

Jeff scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Then just wait it out," Matt said, shrugging.

He scowled bitterly. "Fine."

Something didn't feel right.

**.xXx.**

The following week, the Hart Dynasty and CM Punk teamed up to take on the Hardys and John Morrison. It was a take off of the storyline twist that John had introduced, and the ongoing feud between Punk and Jeff. Others would argue that the match was just Vince's hooligans and choice favorite versus his non-favorites. While maintaining the storyline, of course. But most people maintained that Vince was still ragging on Jeff for not being as good a role model as Punk. Because Vince didn't like Jeff.

So it goes.

Jeff didn't like that he was being forced to wrestle, given his neck's current condition. So in the entire week leading up to the match, he attempted to cram as many chiropractic appointments, physical therapy, pain medications, and training into his schedule as possible. Beth worried that he was just going to hurt himself further.

"But there's not much you can do besides sit back and watch," she said.

"I know," Matt said.

Both he and Jeff reassured her that he would be just fine during their match this week on Smackdown. But even as he was sitting there at home with a comforting arm around his girlfriend, he found himself doubting his own words.

It wasn't a very reassuring feeling.

Even less reassuring was John's attitude going in to the match. He himself seemed thoroughly prepared for the match, though he only briefly conversed with Matt about what was physically taking place during it. Even briefer was his run-through with Jeff. He didn't know if that was because he was still wary of Jeff based on the confrontation, or if he was finally done being faux-nice.

Knowing that he was putting his safety almost entirely into the hands of a man he barely trusted was rather discomforting.

To say in the least.

But the outcome of the match proved Jeff's worries to be naught once more. John actually had his back most of the time, and even helped to hold off the Dynasty long enough for Matt to get the pin and score their team the win. Afterwards, he even checked on Jeff to make sure he was okay.

"Thought your neck might have gotten jacked up again," he said. "I saw you land on it funny. And then, you know, Phil started wailing on it."

John actually looked him in the eyes. This wasn't creepy-staring-at-you-from-across-the-room John, no. This wasn't cold-shoulder John who was too good to talk to you, but not too good to get under your skin and then laugh about it, no. There was a softer side to him he had never seen before. The genuine concern was even weirder and more unnerving than the cold indifference. Not that he would prefer one over the other, now.

"Well now _I'm_ confused," Matt said.

They were both backstage now, getting dressed and packing up in the locker rooms. John had long since departed for the hotel after complimenting both Hardys on the match.

"Maybe he's only nice to me when no one else is around?" Jeff suggested. "I don't know, hell."

"That sounds ominously creepy."

"_Thank you_ for finally seeing this through my eyes."

"I'm not ruling anything out," Matt replied, calmly. "I still maintain everything I've mentioned previously."

"Fine," Jeff said. "But I don't know what the hell to do anymore. I tried talking to him, and that didn't work. I tried waiting things out and that was even less helpful."

"Sounds like it, yeah."

"Great! What the _fuck_ do I do now? I don't know how much more of this I can take, Matt. I don't know why he's even getting to me so much like this in the first place!"

"Maybe you're just wary because a former enemy wants to make amends," Matt suggested. "That sounds reasonable."

"I don't know," Jeff replied. "But I have to do something. If not, it's just going to keep bothering the _hell_ out of me."

There was a brief silence as they finished packing and stood up. Matt glanced over at his brother.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked.

Jeff didn't say anything for a while. Then he inhaled deeply, thinking. "Probably something stupid."

"Oh good," Matt said, throwing his duffle bag over his shoulder. "For a minute there I was worried that it was going to be something uncharacteristic of you."

"Next week," Jeff said. "I'll do something next week when I see him again for Smackdown tapings. I don't want to like, stalk him at the hotel. Just because he's a creeper doesn't mean I have to be too."

"Good philosophy. Let's go."

**.xXx.**

The ride to the hotel seemed like a long one, despite that the hotel was just down the street from the arena. There was no reason he could really think of that would make this ride seem longer than usual. He was tired, he was hurting, he was stressed. Maybe it was just because Matt was one driving.

"You've got a lot on your mind, I get that," Matt said. "I try to be understanding, but don't diss my driving."

The matter was dismissed, and he pulled in to the hotel parking lot. They had checked in about two days ago, so Jeff was relieved when he was able to bypass that hassle and go straight up to their room. On one or two occasions, he thought he saw John lurking somewhere down the halls or around the corner, but Matt told him he was just being paranoid. Their good friend Gregory Helms was staying with them for the duration of their tour in this city. He had called ahead after he was done with ECW tapings to say that he was already in the room. So it confused them a bit when they opened the door to their room and he wasn't there.

"Aww man, what the fuck," Jeff sighed.

"Great. Just what we need. Hey, Greg? You here?" Matt called.

"Just call his cell or something. I need to take a shower and then pass out until next week."

"Hold on, why don't _you_ call him?"

"Because my battery is almost dead, I left my charger back home in Cameron, and I need my remaining battery to call Beth, since I promised her I would," Jeff answered. "Anything else?"

Matt scowled at him. "No, that's fine. Go take your damn shower."

Jeff smirked and grabbed his things out of his suitcase before heading into the bathroom. Matt rolled his eyes and dug around his bag for his cell phone. He glanced bitterly towards the door as he punched in Greg's number and brought the phone up to his ear. The phone rang a few times, and he tapped his foot.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Greg? Yeah, it's me, Matt…"

**.xXx.**

The hot water was soothing. Whatever stress, worries, or injuries Jeff was harboring, it was washed away in an instant. His iPhone was sitting on the edge of the bathtub along side a small bottle of scented oils. He didn't even know where the bottle came from, or if it was just a complimentary item, but whatever it was, thank god for it. It made his bath that much more relaxing.

He lolled his head in the direction of his phone. He pulled his arm out of the water to reach for it, but found himself hesitating. Jeff rested his arm on the edge of the tub and tapped his fingers on the screen of the phone. He contemplated his options. He promised Beth he'd call her, but then again, she'd probably understand if he wasn't able to. The low battery thing wasn't _his_ fault. Maybe a text message would suffice. He glanced at the phone again.

"Then again, I _do_ miss her…"

He picked up his phone and punched in her number, quickly drawing his chilly arm back into the warm water. It was better already.

"_Hey Jeffie."_

Now it was even better than better.

Jeff closed his eyes and smiled. "Hey, you," he said. John Morrison and the whole weird situation disappeared.

She laughed softly. _"What's up?"_

The weird situation came back. He thought he heard a thump outside the bathroom door. Jeff opened his eyes and his heart skipped a beat. He looked towards the door apprehensively.

"_Jeff?"_

"Sorry, babe," he said. He stuttered just a little bit. "Just a bit tired."

She paused. _"You know, Matt texted me a while ago. He told me you were turning into a sniveling little girl. I had a good laugh about it at the time, but I still have no idea what he was talking about."_

Jeff sighed and clutched his forehead. "Knew it. Don't worry about it."

"_Isn't that my job, though? To worry about you? Work has been making you weird lately."_

"In what way?"

"_Well, you don't call me very much anymore. And whenever you do, the calls are short and you always seem on-edge. You seem more stressed than usual, your excuse is always that you're tired, and last time you and Matt were reassuring me about your match with John against Phil and the Dynasty, you got all tense and well…weird when we mentioned his name."_

Despite the warm water, he shuddered. "Who, John?"

"_Yeah. Listen, I want you to take it easy, okay? I'm worried about you."_

Jeff smiled. "At least one of us is doing their job well."

She laughed. _"No, but seriously. If you worry me anymore, I just might have to slap you upside the head."_

"Heh. Yes, ma'am."

"_Be safe, okay? I love you."_

He couldn't get John Morrison off of his mind, but Beth certainly helped the situation a great deal.

"I know, babe. Love you t—."

He wasn't able to finish his sentence. As he was starting to get the last words out of his mouth, someone from the outside abruptly started pounding on the bathroom door.

"Hey, Jeff! Jeff Hardy!"

The door muffled the voice, and in his delirium, he put a name to the voice without giving himself any time to think.

"_John?_"

Startled, Jeff quickly stood up. In his wild haste, his wet and shaking hands dropped the phone on the way up. The phone missed the water, but landed on the hard tile floor just outside of the tub, where it hit with enough force to pop the back cover off.

"Shit!"

"Jeff?"

"_Don't come in!"_ he shouted, hastily grabbing a towel from off the rack. He wrapped it around himself and jumped out of the tub. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What are you talking about? I'm your brother!"

Jeff froze, standing there with towel wrapped loosely around his waist and dripping water onto his broken phone. The delirium was starting to clear, but if anything, it was more like it was just being clouded over by deep chagrin.

"What?"

"It's Matt, man. What the hell's wrong with you? Come on, you _know_ it's me!"

Jeff sighed, mentally kicked himself, and then secured the towel around his waist. "Fine. Come in."

Matt opened the door as Jeff was bending down to pick up the pieces of his phone. He walked in cautiously, first peering around the door to make sure everything was okay. He spotted Jeff on the floor, bent over his phone.

"Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

"Hang on, dropped my phone when you knocked."

He watched Jeff put the cover back on and power it up. "Is it broken?"

"No, but the battery's finally dead," Jeff answered, despondently. "Great. I was in the middle of a call, too."

"To Beth? You can use my phone if you want."

"Maybe, we'll see. I might be okay," he said. A few seconds passed. "Hey, what was up with that back there?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

Jeff gave him a look. "What do you mean? _You_ were the one that scared the shit out of _me_."

"Well then I scared myself scaring you. Happy?" Matt asked, sarcastically. "I just got off the phone with Greg, and apparently our boy met up with some ECW and Smackdown friends after television tapings and they went out to hit the town."

"Oh, nice of him to call."

"He said he couldn't get a signal."

Jeff shrugged. "Okay, I'll buy that." He didn't appreciate Matt scaring him, but in a heartbeat, he would admit that it was much better than what he originally thought it was. John was definitely getting under his skin. "Oh, Matt, did you hear a thump a few minutes ago too?"

"Yeah, I tripped over your suitcase. Way to leave it in the middle of the room," Matt replied. "So what was up with _you?_ I knocked on the door and you said 'John.'"

"Yeah, um…" he started. "You know, it's nothing, really. But uh, if you could just leave now, I have to—."

"Bullshit."

"Huh?"

"Jeff, you're paranoid. I can't believe that you would be _so paranoid_ as to think that John's actually stalking you in your hotel room. There is no way that he could have gotten under your skin like this. Come on, Jeff, I know you," Matt said. "But seriously, when are you going to get it? He's a nice guy now. Know why he does all that crap for you? _Because he's a nice guy now!"_

Jeff buried both of his hands in his hair. "Matt, I—."

"Beth is right, bro," Matt said, softer now. "Work is making you weird."

Jeff looked up. "How did you…?"

"She told me. But listen…" He moved forward to place a hand on his shoulder. "I'm worried about you, Jeff."

He bit his lip and glanced towards the ground. The effect the situation was having on him was not good for his health. He hated to make them worry like this, but could he help it? He looked back up at Matt and placed a hand on his arm.

"I completely agree," he said. "Next week, I'm going to get to the bottom of this, and then there will be no more talk of John Morrison."

Matt sighed and slid his arms under Jeff's. "I'm glad. Don't make me tell Beth that you haven't been listening to her, because I _know_ she told you to take it easy."

Jeff hugged him back. "I know. Sorry, bro."

They stayed like that for a moment. Having Matt for an older brother was nice.

"Hang on…" Matt said, pulling out his cell phone. He flipped it open and stared at the screen for a second. "I got a text from Beth."

"Probably about my phone," Jeff sighed. "What's it say?"

"'Is Jeff okay?'" He looked up at him, scrutinizing him with an over-exaggerated look of intent thinking. "Sure, why not? It wouldn't be a good idea to worry her any more than she already is."

He typed out a reply: _he's fine. i startled him and he dropped his phone. sorry about that._

"Matt?" Jeff said. He paused as he looked up at him again and shut his phone. "Why are you still here?"

Matt stared at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Jeff fidgeted. "I mean like, can I get dressed now? Please?" His hands were on the towel again.

"Oh! Right, sorry." He moved towards the door. "Anyway, I'm going to stay up to wait for Greg, but you go ahead and get some rest. At least we're going home tomorrow and you can go charge your phone, or whatever." He started to leave, but stopped. "But more importantly, so you can rest up and regain some much needed sanity."

"I can't wait," Jeff replied.

The rest of the night was peaceful and soothing. Being around Matt and Greg made him feel comfortable and secure. He doubted he'd have to constantly worry about John Morrison and what he was up to, or if he'd have to see him again until next week. He didn't know what he would do next week, how he would confront him, or if he even really wanted to. Something had to be done, though, he knew that. But now was not the time to worry. He was going home in the morning, and he would get to see Beth. Even just thinking about her made everything seem better.

The next morning, Jeff didn't see John on his way out of his room. He didn't see him when he was going down the elevator, and he didn't see him when they were checking out, or when they entered the parking lot. It confused him, and he wondered how John could, at one moment, be everywhere, and then suddenly be nowhere.

It was eerie.

But now was not the time to worry about it.

Later on, Jeff heard through the grapevine that John Morrison's room had been right next to his.

So it goes.

End Chapter 1

Ooo weird. Did John arrange for his room to be next to Jeff's? wow, even I don't know.  
the next chapter should be interesting. I conjured the idea while fine-tuning this chapter for the millionth time. Seriously, I did so many edits on this chapter. But anyway, Chapter 2 should answer a lot of unexplained questions I'm sure you all have.  
I don't expect this story to be very long. Three chapters, four at the most. And I have no idea how I'm going to end it, I really don't XD.  
I know this chapter was long. I didn't mean for it to be. So if you read the whole thing, you're officially my favorite. I can only hope that you'll go on to read the other chapters, which I'll try not to make as long as this one was.  
unless you want that…  
but at any rate, review please!


	2. John Morrison

**4.8.11 **i watched the six-man tag match video, and have edited the fight in this chapter so it was more accurate.  
I love writing this story, really. But imma need more reviews than _that_. Story favs and story alerts much appreciated, but reviews draw more publicity since they're more accessible to the readers :3  
but still, it's good to know that people are reading my stuff. Much love to you all.  
**Note:** just a word about this chapter…I got the idea for it while editing chapter 1 for the millionth time. This chapter is essentially going to be the same as chapter 1…except from John's point of view. Ooo exciting!  
**Warnings:** twists! I'm definitely AUing WWE's storylines. Why? To make it slashy, of course. Probably more creeperness on John's part. Language, and whatnot. References to violence. A bit angsty, maybe.  
**Disclaimers:**I don't own Jeff or John or anything and everything WWE related. I don't even own any original characters, because this story is OC FREE! Ooo exciting.  
**Note II:** I'm not very familiar with John's "Nitro" character. So if I butcher his character, I'm sorry.  
**Reviews and Criticism:** yes please!

**Chapter 2: john morrison**

Johnny Nitro was in to the Divas. Or so it goes. No one outside of his stable MNM really knew that much about him. On-screen, he was arrogant, crude, and played by the quick-and-dirty method. No one really liked it, but he sure got the job done. Backstage, well…he was Johnny Nitro. He was still arrogant and still crude. Put him next to Joey Mercury and the two were a lethal combination.

He was something of a womanizer, also, which might have been the reason he liked the Divas. So it goes. Divas were sassy little toothpicks, nothing but trouble. So they were pretty much right up his alley. Gorgeous, smart, athletic, everything you could fantasize about and more.

Which was probably the reason he and Melina worked out so well.

Melina was the second "M" in their stable MNM. Some people backstage criticized her of only being in MNM because she was dating Johnny. Other people were wary of their relationship. After the scandalous love triangle between Matt Hardy, Lita, and Edge, few people could be trusted anymore, and interoffice relations even less. Johnny had a close eye on the three of them. As brash as he was, as proud as he was, he actually trusted Melina.

As a heel in the WWE, he drew a lot of heat and attention. A while later, and another rumor regarding his and Melina's relationship came to light. Based on Johnny's on-screen character, he had been established as a self-promoting, conceited blowhard who would do anything to get his share of the spotlight. Now, it couldn't really be said that WWE drew their highest ratings from the Divas' division. The high ratings were usually reserved for the big-name characters, like John Cena or Jeff Hardy. But still, the Divas were wicked popular with the fans, pro wrestling being a male-dominated sport and all. Despite mediocre ratings, the Divas were still strongly popular. So if one wanted to get noticed, all he had to do was become popular himself.

And hooking up with a Diva was the fastest and easiest way to do it. At least, for a womanizer like Johnny Nitro, anyway.

So the rumors had it that Johnny was only dating Melina because he loved being in the spotlight, and the publicity he got from being seen with her was definitely putting him in the spotlight. They didn't even promote their relationship on-screen. All the publicity they were getting was from news being leaked from backstage sightings and pictures. That was a difficult feat to accomplish.

And he loved it.

But they could say what they wanted. Johnny loved the spotlight, but he also loved Melina. So having her with him and Joey in MNM was really…nice. Being in the spotlight _with_ Melina was also nice. But aside from that, Johnny himself wasn't exactly the most popular superstar in the WWE. The fans, liking faces and all, made it a bit difficult for him to gain popularity on his own. He was a heel, and heels rarely drew love from the fans. But still, this Johnny Nitro character was someone he could really get into. It was fun. He enjoyed being Johnny Nitro.

And so he was.

Being a heel didn't exactly draw him much love from the fans, but backstage was a different story. When he wasn't being reprimanded for his brutish behavior, he was being praised on portraying such a convincingly crude asshole so well. But whether that really was who he was or not, they didn't know. Johnny Nitro wasn't exactly a popular Superstar, but the ladies sure liked him. He was occasionally hearing that _this_ Diva liked him, or _that_ Diva liked him. It wasn't the kind of popularity or fawning that he heard some other Superstars got. The more popular Superstars, you know, like John Cena or Jeff Hardy, or whatever. Damn them.

But then again, who the hell cared? He had Melina.

The WWE, and professional wrestling in general, was a tough occupation to get by in. Not many people liked him, or so it seemed. But he knew his way around the business, and knowing what strings to pull and with who certainly helped. Last he had heard, he was on Vince McMahon's good side.

So it goes.

Back in 2006, he was put into a storyline feud with Jeff Hardy. This was _perfect_. Jeff was a main eventer, which meant that if he fought him, then he could get some main event time, too. The storyline was a very love/hate one. On one hand, he got to tag team with his stable, and he loved tag teaming with them. On the other hand, he was also stuck wrestling with Matt Hardy and Lita. Neither of them were Jeff Hardy, so he didn't care much for them. But then again, the three of them all together certainly did bring a lot of challenge and flavor to the party. There was a lot of energy and that made for an exciting storyline. Every match was like that, and the fans ate it up. And the more the fans liked it, the more the WWE played the storyline, and the more TV time he got.

It was intoxicating.

But still, Jeff was a fan favorite. The fans loved him. If there was one Superstar in the business that could demand the spotlight and barely have to earn it, it was Jeff Hardy. And it burned him. But he had an idea, and that was to take MNM and harass the hell out of Team Xtreme every chance they got. Some of the other wrestlers who noticed this accused him of harassing them because Johnny was an uptight asshole who was just jealous of Jeff's popularity. And in some senses, it was true. But Johnny was not careless, and for everything he did, he had a strategic and methodical plan. The plan in question here was to enhance the MNM/Team Xtreme feud. He _made_ the feud work, he _made_ it exciting, and he _made_ the fans love it. And what the fans want, the fans get. And when the fans got what they wanted, then so did Johnny.

And for the longest time, things were going his way. He and Joey were multi-time tag team champions, he had a beautiful girlfriend, a successful stable for the history books, and a showstopping storyline that would make the company proud.

Then 2007 came.

The MNM/Team Xtreme storyline officially ended in February, when MNM lost to the Hardys at the No Way Out pay-per-view. Things took another downturn in March when Joey left the WWE. Up until that point, MNM had actually been downplayed, and Joey left MNM, but made sporadic reunions with John and Melina up until his release. John wasn't too happy about that. But even despite this setback, things were still going pretty well.

Then suddenly, he and Melina broke up, and Johnny fell into a downward spiral. Being drafted to ECW certainly didn't help things. ECW was the WWE's least-watched show. The spotlight that he loved so much was unceremoniously stripped from him, and suddenly he was on his own. No Joey, no Melina, and no fan-love to fuel his desires and needs. Winning the ECW Championship helped to boost him back to main-event status, but being on ECW, that didn't mean much to him.

But Vince liked him. Vince, some creative team members, and Johnny collaborated and cooked up a brand new gimmick for him. The idea was to make him even more brash and arrogant on-screen than before. Judging by audience feedback and rating levels, it seemed that the fans loved to give TV time to the super heels just because there was a better chance that he would be seen with a beloved babyface, and the two would fight, and there would be a good chance of seeing the super heel get the living snot beaten out of him. And the fans loved that. Johnny re-debuted the following week on ECW under the name John Morrison, wielding his ECW Championship and a shiny new persona to show off to the world. The plan worked, as far as anyone was concerned.

And things seemed to be going just fine. No, he didn't have Joey, and no, he didn't have Melina. But for the first time in a long time, he felt just fine about his future in this business.

And then CM Punk came along.

It wasn't like he was _new_ to the company or anything. John had actually been feuding slightly with Punk since he arrived at ECW a few months ago. It was nothing heavy, just a little back-and-forth banter for the title. John didn't much mind him backstage. Phil Brooks seemed like a pretty laid-back, easy-to-get-along-with kind of guy. But in-ring, he put up one hell of a fight. He admired that about Punk, but still wasn't too happy when the creative team decided to hand off the ECW title to him following SummerSlam.

He was even less happy when the creative team told him that his storyline with the ECW title was over. At this moment, it seemed like everything that really mattered to him was taken from him. His tag team, his girlfriend, his championship gold…

His spotlight…

But things weren't nearly as dreary as they seemed. John's reputation had earned him commendation, though he had been too caught up in his work to notice. Despite losing his championship, he was still one of the highest ranking stars on ECW. WWE certainly took notice, and decided to use this to help boost a rising star.

The Miz wasn't new to the WWE either. He just hadn't been garnering himself as much attention as John. Miz's on-screen character was as brash as John's, and WWE told him that the two of them would go great together. At first, John and Miz were feuding. They didn't take much notice to each other backstage, not exactly making an effort to get to know each other beyond what was necessary.

John wasn't really sure of the WWE's motives behind this new feud he was involved in. They said it was to help boost Miz's popularity, but somehow, he got the feeling that that wasn't it at all. Was it a push behind a rising star? Was it a fresh storyline the fans could get behind? Did they think John needed to be more obnoxious? He didn't know.

The feud soon turned into a partnership, and the two formed a tag team. They won tag team championships, WWE gave them their own internet talk show, and they won two Slammy Awards in the same night. The team of John Morrison and the Miz was largely successful. And yet, he wasn't happy.

He had no reason not to be, though. He was a successful Superstar, a reigning World Tag Team champion with a career others would kill for. He had his championship gold, he had his spotlight. Hell, he even had an on-screen fling with Nikki Bella, a very well-admired Diva. He was right back where he started when he had Joey and Melina. This was everything he wanted.

But he wasn't happy.

He was done taping for ECW one night, and decided to hang around a bit longer to watch Smackdown. He was in a private room seated in front of a live-circuit TV, watching a live television taping of Smackdown from backstage. Usually he left the arena right after he was done with ECW tapings, but for reasons unbeknownst to him, tonight he didn't really have the energy to get up and drive back to the hotel. There was something getting him down, like something was missing from his life.

Once Jeff Hardy appeared on that screen, it hit him like a brick to the head.

He didn't just need spotlight, he needed _popularity_. He didn't need the Divas to get it; they didn't get nearly enough TV time. He needed a Superstar who was already largely popular in his own right.

He needed Jeff Hardy.

The 2009 Tri-Brand draft was coming up. The General Managers and the creative team were going to get together soon to discuss which Superstars to move and to where. From doing a little "unintentional" eavesdropping, he heard it said that ECW's General Manager, Teddy Long, didn't want to move John Morrison around anywhere this year. Everyone liked the tag team of John Morrison and the Miz and wanted to keep them together, but Teddy said that if he _had_ to give him up, he would want to put him on Smackdown.

Suddenly, things didn't seem so bleak anymore.

During the draft, Miz was supposed to fight Kofi Kingston. The winner would earn a draft pick for his respective brand. Miz was scheduled to win, and then someone would be drafted to ECW. John was standing ringside during the fight. Throughout the whole match, he felt oddly compelled to do something with the match.

So he did.

While Kofi was on the top turnbuckle about to go high-risk on Miz, John jumped up onto the ring apron and tried to push him off. The referee, completely and utterly confused, had no choice but to disqualify Miz. Kofi and Miz both stared at John, shocked. Kofi played along and went to go celebrate his win as John entered the ring to confront Miz, who was starting to brim with anger. He lashed out at him with all sorts of guilt trip things like, "What the hell did you do," or "Why did you do that," or "We were champions," or "We were _friends."_

Oh please, Mike. If you were a real friend, you wouldn't ask questions.

Miz apologized by putting John in a neckbreaker.

The revealing of the draft pick took longer than usual. On what John assumed to be an extremely last-second improv to the plans, Miz ended up being drafted to Raw. In a supplemental draft, John himself was drafted to Smackdown.

Things were starting to go his way. Being drafted to Smackdown almost made up for being completely chewed out by Vince McMahon and the GMs backstage after the match. In the end, the creative team decided it would be best to keep the unscheduled event a secret from the other Superstars and the fans and to just work off of the two new drafts.

Last he heard, he was on Vince's bad side.

So it goes.

Smackdown was nice. Occasionally, he saw Jeff Hardy around in the locker rooms. At first, he paid no mind to him, starting it out small like he was still warming up to being on Smackdown, like he was still upset that he had been separated from Miz. The plan that he had conjured up with the creative team was to start him out fresh, but this time, as a face. John figured that he could get closer to Jeff if he were a face, that he could gain his trust. But after years of beating on him as a heel, he didn't exactly know how easy it would be.

Jeff seemed like a very trusting and forgiving man. But for what he could guess was only reasonable, Jeff seemed wary of him. Jeff was so used to him being a heel, his enemy, and beating down on him, it probably seemed only fair that he would be feeling like this. Perhaps he wasn't too used to the idea of John being face yet?

Well, let's fix that, then.

John had already long since realized that he was using Jeff Hardy. He wanted to use Jeff's popularity to help boost his own, but he couldn't gain said popularity if Jeff wasn't completely comfortable around him. He needed to know that Jeff trusted him, but he wasn't going to get that if the two of them kept dodging each other backstage. But that, dodging him, seemed like an interesting feat in its own right. Every time he saw Jeff backstage, he would look confused or apprehensive. For some reason, it intrigued him.

Jeff was currently involved in a storyline feud with CM Punk. To John, it seemed fairly dangerous, like it was straying away from the kind of scenes the WWE usually tried to create. This was different, and John didn't like it. On one episode of Smackdown, it looked like Punk actually tried to break Jeff's neck. It was _really_ convincing, moreso than usual. Later on, he heard it was a storyline that Vince and Punk cooked up.

Now he liked it even less.

The next week, the Hart Dynasty took out Jeff in a handicap match. John wondered how Vince would react if he screwed up the schedule again, if he did something else spontaneous and unexpected like he did during the draft. In the end, he decided that he couldn't fall any lower on Vince's "Bad Things" list, and saved Jeff Hardy from the Hart Dynasty.

Punk quickly arrived and took him out. Punk's arrival was planned, as was Matt Hardy's face turn. The three of them stood in the ring as the heels retreated to the back. John was feeling like he was successfully establishing himself as a face wrestler whether the creative team liked it or not, standing with two very popular Superstars while the thousands of fans in attendance cheered for him. He amazed himself by how quickly he was able to win the fans over. Playing the fans seemed almost _too_ easy.

But Jeff on the other hand…Jeff seemed trickier. He kind of liked that.

Jeff told them that his neck was killing him. All of them were still confused about the near-lethal storyline that seemed so uncharacteristic of the creative team. Jeff decided that it was in the past, and no matter what, he would get through it, but damn his neck hurt. After checking on his brother's condition, Matt pulled John aside slightly.

"Vince was backstage before I came out here," he said. "And he is fucking _pissed_."

John grinned.

Well, _good_.

**.xXx.**

Nothing was done about Punk's actions, but for some reason, John was heavily reprimanded. He really didn't think that what he did was wrong. Punk was trying to hurt Jeff, and John was just trying to save him. The odds were probably in Punk's favor because he was on Vince's good side, and last he heard, John wasn't.

Phil Brooks used to be a real nice guy back before his heel turn. Once he became a heel and worked himself onto Vince's "Good Things" list, suddenly he became a 24/7 asshole. Lots of people claimed he was just method acting, that he was warming up to his on-screen character. John wouldn't buy it. Punk had actually legitimately tried to hurt Jeff two weeks in a row, and Vince wasn't doing a damn thing about it. If anything, he seemed to be encouraging him.

But why was that? From asking around, John found out it was probably because Jeff has a drug use history, and Punk was straight edge.

Over time, John learned to hate those two words.

John was not careless, and for everything he did, he had a strategic and methodical plan. He observed Jeff closely, yet from a distance. On occasion, John would see Jeff around backstage or in the locker rooms. From what he could see, it looked like Jeff was okay, that his neck wasn't bothering him too visibly. He would stare at him, scrutinizing him until Jeff returned eye contact. Once he set eyes on Jeff, he would remind himself of his mission, his plans, his goal. In Jeff's eyes he could see confusion with an underlying tone of curiosity. And he would smirk because it enticed him so, so much.

There was something about seeing Jeff so helplessly bewildered that made him seem so fucking adorable. And _intriguing_. There was always something about him.

Several times he sat himself down to question himself. He was very sure that right now, he was just turning face to gain Jeff's trust and the trust of those around him. Last he heard, Jeff's brother Matt trusted him. It might have just been a side-effect of being grateful because he went out of his way to save Jeff, or something. But as far as he was concerned, he was face to win over Jeff Hardy. And he wanted to win over Jeff Hardy so he could share in his spotlight, and when he had Jeff's spotlight, he had his popularity and the adoration of millions of fans.

But why did he even feel like he needed the adoration at all? Why was it he hadn't felt this way until after Joey left the WWE? After Melina broke up with him? Why was it that after he got all of it back on ECW, he didn't feel the same? Something huge was missing from his life. He just didn't know what. Was it championship gold? No, ECW gave him that. Was it a main event status? No, ECW gave him that too. Was it a romantic intrigue? No, ECW gave him—

Wait…

He had to stop to think this over very carefully. The one thing he missed most about his old life on Raw was MNM. MNM gave him a persona he could really sink his teeth into and connect with, it gave him a character he enjoyed being. Being John Morrison, being a face, was kind of odd. But it wasn't _too_ different from being Johnny Nitro. The only difference, really, was that he was Nitro because he liked being Nitro, and now he's Morrison because he's using Jeff.

Hmm…maybe _that's_ it.

Not much excitement came with the name John Morrison. He liked tag teaming with Joey Mercury because it was _exciting_. Miz was just full of himself, not exciting at all. He loved Melina because she was actually his _girlfriend_. Nikki Bella was an on-screen valet to him and Miz, not exciting at all.

So was that it? The missing link in John Morrison's life was…_excitement?_

And what was the one thing Jeff Hardy was known for? Extreme rules, hardcore matches, high flying, high risk…_lots_ of excitement. John smiled with this epiphany, and concluded that Jeff was so enticing because he was _exciting_, and John was lacking excitement. He needed the spotlight and the popularity and the adoration because it was thrilling. And Jeff was a thrill-seeker.

Things tend to make a lot more sense once you sit down and think about them.

"_There_ you are."

John looked up. The creative team had told him that they were thinking of putting John into a new tag team, but this time with R-Truth as his partner. The storyline wasn't going to happen anytime soon. It was just something that the writers had been playing with, and in the meantime, told the two men to start to get to know each other. R-Truth seemed well up to it, and John just played along. So it didn't much surprise him when the person who found him turned out to be R-Truth.

"What are you doing in here? It's like, half a dressing room with no ventilation."

The room, perhaps, was even smaller than half a dressing room. Most people in the building just used it as a lost and found or a general dumping ground for things unwanted. John actually wasn't quite sure how he got in here. All he knew is that before he was here, he was looking for a nice quiet place in which he could sit and hear his thoughts.

"It's worth it," John answered. "What's up?"

"Ha, I get it. Very funny, John."

"No, seriously," John said. "Were you looking for me?"

"Not me," Truth said, "but for the last fifteen or twenty minutes or so, Jeff Hardy's been asking around for you."

John's face lit up. "Has he, now?"

"He's in the green room right now, being all frustrated."

"I love it. I'll go see him right now," John said, standing up. "Thanks, Ron. Oh by the way, have you seen my sunglasses?"

"Yeah, you left them in the locker room," Truth said. He pulled John's glasses out of his pocket and handed them to him.

"Awesome. Been looking for these," John said, putting them on. Truth raised an eyebrow and looked him over.

"John, you're inside a building. Isn't it hard to see with those on?"

John sneered. "Psh, nah. Well…sometimes. _Anyway…_" He slapped a hand onto Truth's shoulder. "Thanks."

On the way to the green room, John did some more thinking. So now he was at the consensus that he was actually trying to fill the missing aspects in his life he considered oh so important. Apparently, it was important enough to make him try to _use_ Jeff Hardy to fill those aspects. He was using him to fill the excitement, but what else? What else was exciting? What else was he missing? It wasn't the tag teaming, he had R-Truth now, apparently. It wasn't the main-event spotlight, he earned himself that.

But what if…what if it was the _romantic_ intrigue? Was he using Jeff to fill the lack of _romance_ in his life?

This was a game. He knew it now. He was playing with Jeff's trust and emotions, all because his life wasn't exciting enough and Jeff was interesting. Jeff's doubt and apprehension were the obstacles, but his trust was the finish line. He was using the game to make up for MNM being gone from his life, because there was something about Jeff that made him believe that he was as exciting, if not more so, than MNM.

He was standing in the doorway of the green room now, one arm propped up against the frame. Jeff was standing at the refreshments table with his back to him, taking sips from a cup of coffee. Jeff was certainly undoubtedly the resplendent fantasies of every woman and the envy of every man in the WWE Universe. And hell, why wouldn't he be? He was looking the older man up and down, trying to decide if that's really what he was wanted Jeff for after all. Maybe he could get some answers out of Jeff—he had been looking for him after all.

"Heard you were looking for me," he said.

Jeff didn't turn around right away. A few seconds passed, and Jeff took another sip of coffee. John cocked his head. What the hell was he waiting for? He had spent the last near-half hour looking for him, and now that he's here, he doesn't even have the decency to answer him.

"Only about, like, twenty minutes ago," Jeff answered finally, turning around. Jeff's tone sounded stressed, almost caustic. Could it be that Jeff had figured out what John was really up to? It couldn't be possible that Jeff has learned about the game when John himself only realized the game was in session just a few minutes ago. John decided to play along and see what Jeff wanted. It was, of course, entirely possible that he was just being paranoid.

"Well, I'm here now. What's up?" He tried to make his voice sound as calm as possible.

"You tell me," Jeff answered. "It's been on my mind for just, the longest time, man, and I know you mean well, I'm grateful you helped save me from the Hart Dynasty, and you know that, I know you do. But I can't help but question your timing."

_He was grateful?_ John thought. _Huh. I must have overlooked that. But what's he talking about, "my timing?" What the hell was wrong with my timing?_

"My timing?" he asked. "Jeff, you're acting like what I did was a bad thing."

"In what way?" Jeff replied immediately. He sounded snappish. Was he irritated? What about? "I told you I was grateful, didn't I? My problem is, why did you at one point come to Smackdown and act like I didn't exist, while acting like a nice guy to everyone else, and then suddenly start doing spontaneous things like save me from a scripted beat down and then show up everywhere I go?"

John had been shying away from him, he knew it. He just didn't know that he needed Jeff to fill his life's emptiness until after the Punk Chair incident. There had been something about that beatdown that just pulled at his heart, made him cringe and feel like he had to do something about it. It didn't seem right now like Jeff knew about the game, but maybe…maybe he should. He was close.

"Maybe I was just waiting for the right moment to pull the good-guy move on you. The beat down was scripted, but my interference wasn't. What does that tell you about me?" That'll get him thinking.

And for a while, Jeff _did_ think. "You know, back on Raw, you were a real asshole, even off-screen. I think you're making up for that."

_Okay…that's not it at __all__. He's definitely not aware of the game._

He was kind of resentful towards Jeff. Not because he was oblivious to the game, but because he seemed so scathing, so ungrateful despite his words. He understood how Jeff could think he was an asshole back on Raw. But it still cut him deep.

John pulled off his sunglasses. He wanted to get a better look at Jeff so he could ask himself if this game, if this man, was really worth the trouble. Was it worth the hurt, the bitterness, and the resent just to get his spotlight, adoration, and popularity?

And…romance?

Well, maybe it was. He figured if he could just drag the game out for a little bit longer, maybe Jeff would catch on. Or maybe, he'd have to start throwing out stronger hints at him.

"I think you're overlooking things."

In a way, it was true.

John left without wanting to hear another word from Jeff. He wanted to continue the game; he knew it in the back of his mind. Aside from all of the ungratefulness of Jeff's words, aside from his ignorance, he was still unbearably irresistible.

He kind of hated people like that.

**.xXx.**

The WWE's writers weren't happy with him, but had no choice but to go off of the storyline twist John had introduced last week. Vince seemed more than willing to let Punk get his hands on both Jeff and John. The match soon became a six-man tag team, between the Hardys and John versus the Hart Dynasty and Punk.

He would be kind of lying if he said that this was what he wanted. Well, right now, anyway.

Prior to the match, he found himself purposely avoiding Jeff as much as possible. He and his two tag team partners were supposed to be going over the match right now, and he talked more with Matt than he did with Jeff. Jeff seemed regrettable and uncomfortable. A few times, he glanced uneasily at Matt, and Matt would give him an "I know" kind of look.

John didn't really know why he was dodging Jeff like this. Maybe he was just messing with him, creating mixed thoughts and feelings around inside Jeff's head. Maybe it was part of the game. Or maybe, he just outright resented him and his obliviousness. He then questioned if he really wanted to continue the game, or if he should just quit while he was ahead.

_Well…let's see where it goes, first._

John and the Hardys were scripted to win. Punk wasn't too happy about that, and tried to give Jeff as much hell as possible while he still could. John and Matt tried their hardest to make sure he was okay and that Punk didn't get too carried away. At one point, Jeff missed a Swanton Bomb and landed hard on his neck, right before Punk started to capitalize on his injury. Matt and John could do nothing except stand and watch from the ring apron as Punk delivered leg drops and elbow shots to Jeff's neck. John watched this, and a wave of pain hit him in the chest. All of the resent and anger he was feeling was gone, overcast by worry and a twinge of guilt.

Jeff wasn't supposed to fall like that. But maybe it was a good thing he did.

Matt ended up pinning Punk to score their team the win. Afterwards, he and John immediately checked on Jeff, who had a hand on the back of his neck and a grimace on his face. Matt helped him up.

"Shit, Jeff, are you okay?" he asked.

"It's getting numb," Jeff answered. "It should be fine soon."

Matt sighed in relief and then maintained the storyline by moving towards the apron of the ring to deter Punk and the Dynasty from trying anything else. They were steadily backing up the ramp towards the back, looking bitter. John casually sauntered over to stand next to Jeff.

"How are you holding up?" John asked. Jeff looked towards him, pausing.

"What?" he said, quietly. This was genuine, gratifying eye contact they were making right now. Jeff looked more confused than ever.

"Thought your neck might have gotten jacked up again," he said. "I saw you land on it funny."

Jeff still looked confused. "Thanks…" he said, uncertain.

They didn't say anything to each other for the rest of the night.

**.xXx.**

"Is it right?" John asked.

"Is what right?" Randy replied.

They were back at the hotel. Tonight, John was sharing a room with his good friend Randy Orton. John was sitting on one of the beds with his back pressed up against the backboard. He had his feet buried in the sheets while Randy was trying to figure out how to open the windows.

"I don't know…" John sighed. "Messing with someone's head, I guess. Act like you're indifferent, then act like you hate them, and suddenly come off as all buddy-like."

Randy pondered this for a moment. "Possibly. Depends on if she deserves it or not."

John looked up at him. "She?"

"Yeah. I'm assuming you're talking about some girl you have a thing for," he answered.

John stared at him for a few seconds. "Yeah. That's it."

"Moving on from Melina already? Good for you."

"Randy, Melina was a while ago."

"Whatever you want to call it, John," Randy said. He ultimately gave up on the window and moved to the temperature box on the opposite wall. "You seem stressed. Is she worth it?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"So who is she?"

The question caught him off guard, and he hastily searched for an answer. "No one you know. She doesn't work here, or even live around here." It was technically true. Jeff lived in North Carolina, and they just finished up a show in the mid-west. It was also true on account of Jeff not being a "she."

"Can't help you there, then," he said. "Mind if I leave the A/C on tonight?"

"Nah, go ahead."

There was a brief silence as John turned his attention back to his feet and Randy wandered over towards the mini bar. There was a small plastic bucket with a plastic bag inside sitting next to the microwave. He picked it up.

"Hey, John."

"Hmm?"

Randy threw the bucket at him. "Since you're not doing anything right now, why don't you go grab us some ice? The dispenser is down the hall, I think."

"What the—you're not doing anything either!" he insisted.

"I've done more than you have since we got here. Have at it."

John scowled at him before pushing the covers aside and standing up. He exited the room wordlessly and made a left turn towards the ice machine. He passed by the room immediately next to theirs and heard some faint words coming from it, but paid it no attention.

The ice machine was further away than he thought. He got lost a few times, but eventually found his way. It was also louder than he thought, which didn't much help his stressed and agitated state of mind.

As he was walking back to his room, his mind wandered back to Jeff and the six-man tag team match. It felt like he checked on Jeff after the match just to try to get inside his mind, to get under his skin. Jeff certainly looked like that's how he was feeling. But John would be lying if he said that he didn't check on Jeff because he cared. This also made him question the game, if it could be called a game at all. It was something malicious and almost unfair to Jeff. But no matter how wrong it felt, it always felt five times more right. Jeff was an interesting and intriguing person, and he had never met anyone like him. Not even Melina could measure up to him. He wondered if that was the reason he was using Jeff to pursue his romantic endeavors more than anything else.

For some reason, romantic interests were more important to him than popularity or spotlight right now. Maybe it was because he had loved Melina so much that having her missing in his life tore him wide open like nothing ever had before. And to have Jeff here, who was so much more exciting than Melina both in and out of the ring, just drew his attention right to him. But Jeff…Jeff was a _guy_. John was open-minded, but he had never really considered anything like this before. But the more he looked at Jeff and the more he thought about him, the more the idea appealed to him.

But did he love him? He didn't know.

Not yet, anyway.

He was at his room. From inside, he could hear water running, so Randy was probably taking a shower. John searched himself one-handedly for his room key, eventually finding his wallet in his back pocket. He managed to retrieve the key while juggling both the key, his wallet, and the bucket of ice at the same time. He was about to slip the key into the slot in the door, when from next door, he heard someone pounding on a door.

"_Hey, Jeff! Jeff Hardy!"_

"_John?"_

John froze with the key half way into the slot, staring at the door next to his.

"_Jeff?"_

"_Don't come in!"_

His face broke into a grin. So his room was next to the Hardys'. How very, very interesting. John looked around, scanning the area. He was alone in the hall, so he set the bucket down by his door, and then silently crept over towards the neighboring room. He probably missed most of the conversation between the time he started scanning the hallway and the time he arrived by their door. There was a lot of indistinguishable murmuring coming from the room, but what he _did_ hear was positively golden.

"_Jeff, you're paranoid. I can't believe that you would be so paranoid as to think that John's actually stalking you in your hotel room,"_ came Matt's voice. It was faint, but he sounded irritated. John raised his eyebrows in surprise. Jeff really thought that?

"_There is no way that he could have gotten under your skin like this. Come on, Jeff, I know you,"_ Matt continued. _"But seriously, when are you going to get it? He's a nice guy now. Know why he does all that crap for you? Because he's a nice guy now!"_

He had gained Matt's trust. And now it was sounding like Matt was working on getting Jeff's _for_ him. John barely had to do anything now. It would be so much easier for Matt to get Jeff to trust John than for John do just outright do it himself. And Matt didn't even know he was helping him.

John could feel himself reverting to his Johnny Nitro character. It almost felt…_good_.

"_Next week, I'm going to get to the bottom of this, and then there will be no more talk of John Morrison."_

Oh really, Jeffrey?

He was in his mind. He was under his skin. He didn't even know the game was this successful already, and he barely had to do anything. This was almost too perfect. He only wished he could assure Jeff that he has, by no means, heard the last of John Morrison any time soon.

He picked the bucket of ice back up and unlocked his door. Randy was still showering by the time he walked inside, still grinning widely. He put the ice down and sauntered over to his bed. He kicked off his shoes and laid down on the bed, sighing heavily. This is what he wanted. _This_ is what was missing from his life, and the game was filling it.

The game was going beautifully.

End Chapter 2

I really didn't expect the upload to take that long. Sorry. I finished up with school and then got a job, so I've been busy.  
I think the point here is to make John come off as a strategic master manipulator, a characteristic he might have picked up from playing Johnny Nitro so well. As I said, I'm not familiar with his Nitro character. So I'm probably just making stuff up. I also made up most of this chapter as I went along. It just happened to tie in perfectly with chapter 1. I love when that happens XD  
John actually _is_ good friends with Randy Orton, so says Wikipedia. Sorry if Orton seemed OOC.  
reviews, please!


	3. Just a Game

Here's why I love getting reviews: they _inspire_ me. No, seriously. I got a review that said "What about Beth?" and something clicked in my head. I was wondering how to start chapter 3, and then I got that click. Soooo much thanks to that reader!  
**Warnings: **anticipate a lot of sexuality. I plan on making this as sexual as I can without there being any actual sex involved. But hopefully none of you are _too_ disappointed XD**  
Note:** from here on out, the story will be fiction rated M. It started out as M, but I lowered it to T so it would actually show up on the Just In page. **  
Note II: **I may be making this story five chapters instead of four. We'll see how it goes.**  
Disclaimers: **I hope I never meet Jeff or John. Because if I did, they would probably flay me alive for the things I'm going to do to them in this story.**  
Reviews and Criticism: **YES, PLEASE.

**Chapter 3: just a game**

"_I think you should take some time off. It seems like work has been making you really stressed and edgy lately."_

"_I can't do that," Jeff said. "Listen, Beth, I'll be fine. I promise."_

The stress was starting to take a visible toll on his health and appearance. Since he and Matt had the discussion in their hotel about John getting under his skin, Jeff had become slightly less worried about what John was up to. But he was still stressed about what exactly it was he was up to in the first place, what he was going to say to him at next week's tapings, and how this would affect his relationship with Beth.

John used to stare at Jeff from across the locker rooms, smirk, and then leave without a word. And it made Jeff confused to no extent. On the plane ride home, Jeff told Matt that every time John looked at him like that, it seemed like he was giving him a "come hither" look.

"Huh," Matt said. "I didn't think he swung that way."

And now they were back home. The first thing Jeff did when he walked into his house was charge his phone. Matt told him not to forget to bring the charger when they had to fly out for next week's tapings. The next thing he did was notice that Beth wasn't home. When he called her, she said that she had gone out with friends but would be back soon.

So in the meantime, he was with Matt. Jeff was sunk low in his favorite chair in the living room and Matt was sitting across from him on the couch. Jeff was unresponsive and staring blankly at the ground with his arms hanging over the sides of the chair. Matt looked at him with concern.

"What are you thinking about?"

Jeff didn't look at him. "Should I tell her?"

"I don't see why you should," Matt answered. "I told you to stop worrying about it. Chances are, next week when you go talk to him, hopefully you'll knock some sense in to him and he'll stop with all this creeper stalker shit. If not, you can always threaten to report him."

"But that's just it," said Jeff. "I don't think he's stalking me."

"Oh really? What about when we were at the hotel and you thought he was in your room?"

"I was paranoid and had a lot going on in my mind, okay?" he said. "Listen, a few years ago, John was my worst enemy. Few weeks ago, Phil tried to break my neck, and suddenly John cares about my well being. I was stressed from my storyline with Phil, and I guess it put me on edge. And then when John suddenly whips out with all this 'I actually care about you' weirdness, what makes you think I _wouldn't_ become paranoid and apprehensive?"

"So…your hair is falling out prematurely because he's _not_ stalking you?"

"I don't know _what_ he's doing," Jeff said. "Which is what I'm going to take care of next week. But you know, in the meantime…should I tell her?"

"Well, she's going to know _something's_ up. You look like you haven't slept in days."

"I've just been stressed."

"Well it shows," Matt said. "Whether you tell her or not is really up to you. Personally I don't think it'd be a nice thing to do to tell her that some weirdo is subtly hitting on her boyfriend and that he's stressing out over nothing."

"I don't think he's hitting on me…"

"I think you should wait until you clear things up with him next—what do you _mean_ he's not hitting on you?" Matt snapped. "You just told me he was giving you 'come hither' looks!"

"Hey, I did not say he was giving me 'come hither' looks, I just said it _seemed_ that way!" Jeff retorted, sitting up.

Matt gripped his forehead. "Listen, Jeff, I'm not going to argue this with you. You're the one caught in this the middle of this crap, and stressing you out by fighting with you is probably the last thing you need. So…just do what you think is best."

Jeff looked up at him, his expression softening. "I still want to hear what you have to say."

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay," he said, sighing. "What I was saying was, I think you should wait until next week, after you clear things up with John. It doesn't make much sense to worry her now and then talk to John and then have everything be okay. It doesn't seem nice to make her stress and worry over nothing. You know?"

The front door opened. "Jeff?" The door closed.

"In here," Jeff called.

A few seconds later and Beth appeared from around the doorway. She smiled in relief and made her way over to him, throwing her purse down next to his chair. She whispered a quick "Hey" before kissing him on the cheek.

"Hey, Matt," she said. Matt smiled in acknowledgment. "How are you guys doing?"

"Holding up," Matt said.

"Been better," Jeff replied.

"Well…you look better than you have been," she said, brushing some hair out of his face. "How's your neck?"

"Not too bad," he admitted. She put a hand on his other cheek and turned his face to hers. He looked at her curiously, but she didn't return his gaze. It seemed like she was studying him. The seconds passed, and she hunched her eyebrows as she looked him over.

"Have you been sleeping?" she asked.

"Told you," Matt muttered.

"Well enough," Jeff said, ignoring Matt's statement. "I've just been tired because of work, you know? Kinda stressed, lotta tired. Don't worry about it."

Beth set her jaw. "I think you should take some time off. _Really_."

"Beth, I said—."

"I just don't want anything else to happen to you. First it was your neck, then it was all this stress, and then you were edgy…What's next, Jeff?"

He sighed. "Listen. There's stuff I have to take care of next week. Once it's over and done with, I'll come home and sleep for a whole week straight if that's what you want me to do."

She closed her eyes and smiled. "Okay. I'm going to hold you to that. And Matt's got my back too, right Matt?"

"Absolutely," Matt said.

"I don't see how this is fair…" Jeff started.

Beth laughed slightly. "I'm going upstairs. Looked like you were talking before I came in, so I'll leave you boys to that." She kissed him again before grabbing her purse and walked out of the room.

Matt watched her leave. "Also, I don't know how she would react if you _did_ tell her. Theoretically, judging by what we've been seeing out of John lately, let's say that he _was_ hitting on you. How do you think Beth would react to that?"

Jeff half-grinned. "Good point."

"And in the meantime, you yourself seem to be taking it pretty well."

Jeff looked up and his smile faded. "That's also a good point. But you know, I maintain what I said earlier…about how I don't think he's hitting on me."

"Well I guess we'll find out next week, won't we?"

"Definitely."

**.xXx.**

The time to fly out for Smackdown tapings came sooner than they expected. Jeff had spent most of the week sleeping. This made Beth feel a lot better about his condition, despite that he continued to refuse to take time off of work. Matt had since accepted that there was no way to keep Jeff out of the ring, but also, he wanted Jeff to clear the air with John Morrison. They both figured that it was the only way to really alleviate the stress clouding Jeff's mind. Beth remained in the dark about the situation.

Jeff was upbeat when leaving his house with Matt. He was still feeling pretty good by the time they had reached the airport and boarded their plane. By the time they had walked into the arena and checked in, the anxiety was starting to settle in again. Jeff kind of expected this, but it was at least bearable, for the most part.

"I just gotta stay focused on my match, is all," Jeff said. "I'll be fine. Not letting him get to me."

"Well, good," Matt said.

Jeff later found out that John had not arrived for tapings yet. Jeff himself was due in the ring soon, and had no time to hang around and wait for him to arrive. Jeff was scheduled to win against CM Punk tonight, though he knew very well from past experience that losing was no reason for Punk to hold back. If anything, it made him lash out against Jeff that much more. What would Jeff do if he emerged from the match, battered, exhausted and vulnerable, and ran into John?

"I'm being crazy," Jeff muttered to himself. "What makes me think that he's going to do anything like that to me? If he cares about his job at all, he'll know not to touch me."

_Wishful thinking, Jeff._

He was standing just outside the wrestler's entrance to the ring, waiting for his cue. Anxious and stressed, he sighed and folded his hands on the back of his head. Upon touching his hair, he found that he still had it up in a ponytail. He quickly pulled the band from his hair and stuffed it into his pocket. In his pocket, found his iPhone. He pulled both items out and sighed with frustration. He had been overlooking so many little things since arriving at the arena. He blamed it entirely on stress and John Morrison.

Outside in the arena, his music started playing. He quickly threw his phone down on a nearby table and jumped the steps to make his entrance just in time.

Punk wasn't so harsh on him tonight like he had been in the past. Jeff figured it was probably because Vince finally told Punk to tone it down and take it easy on him, on account of his neck still bothering him. Vince didn't like Jeff, but Matt had been saying for some time now that he intended to talk to him concerning Jeff's well-being and his storyline with Punk. Vince liked Matt (enough), so he figured that if he asked Vince to reel Phil back in some (since Phil was unlikely to do it himself), then he would actually do it.

It seemed like Matt actually pulled through, but Punk, who was probably unhappy about his new limitations, still managed to roughhouse him a good deal. Jeff left the arena and headed backstage, thoroughly spent and looking forward to going back to the hotel and lying down. He was halfway to his dressing room when he realized that he left his phone back near the wrestler's entrance stairs. It took him a few minutes to remember where he has tossed it and to locate it. Relieved, he switched it on to check it for messages. He turned around to start heading back to his dressing room where Matt was waiting for him, but he took so much as two steps before he found himself being intercepted.

"Hey, Jeff."

Jeff looked up and nearly jumped at the sight of John Morrison standing not even ten feet from him. He was carrying a duffel bag, implying that he had just arrived. Jeff nearly dropped his phone again, but quickly composed himself, praying that John had not noticed. But actually, John's face didn't say anything of having noticed Jeff's edginess. More rather, it looked like he was staring at him, looking him over. Jeff stared back, quizzically.

John's face suddenly broke into a smirk. "Why does your hair look so frumpy?"

"Huh?" Jeff said. This caught him well off guard, and he stood there, unsure of what to do. "What the hell does frumpy mean?"

John smirked again and shook his head. "I kind of like it like that. Gives me ideas. You probably won't like it as much, but I guess we'll find out in time, won't we?" He turned around and started to walk away.

It took Jeff a few seconds to finally regain the ability to speak and to put a finger on what was happening. He reminded himself that before his match, he had been looking for John so he could clear things up with him. He expected John would try to make advances on him, but having been just ambushed by him caught him off guard and for a moment there, he forgot what it was he was supposed to do.

"Hang on a sec, John," Jeff said. "I need to talk to you."

John took another step before turning around. "Is that right?"

"Listen, you creep," Jeff snapped. "I don't know what this is all about. Your face turn, your interferences, helping me out, acting like you actually care…I don't know. But I've been really stressed out wondering about it, and I'm sick of it. I appreciate that you help me out, you know I do. But this crazy stalking, weird looks from across the room…it has to stop. You're freaking me out, man."

John stared at him. A barely visible smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. Jeff was starting to become more aware of the game, but to John, it seemed like the game was being twisted by Jeff's resistance. At first, John thought the game was to gain Jeff's trust so he could take advantage of his popularity to earn himself a great deal of spotlight and main event time. But as he was listening to Jeff talk, it started to seem more like he was using Jeff…just to see if he could.

How much of this was really about trust and popularity? How much popularity could he get if Jeff was uncomfortable around him and sick of his advances? John was already a main eventer, but he wasn't getting as much spotlight as he would have liked. Jeff still had that position. If anything, John was one step beneath Jeff in terms of main event time. He doubted that that would change much while Jeff was still on Smackdown. So if he already had the main event time he wanted, which was the original purpose of the game, what was he still playing with Jeff for?

He had never really dismissed the idea that he was using Jeff to fill the lack of romantic intrigue in his life, the one Melina had left when she broke up with him and went on to pursue singles competition and the Women's Championship. He and Melina were still good friends, but he had since accepted that he wasn't going to get her back any time soon and things weren't going to be the way they were again. But since he had started playing the game and started gauging Jeff's reaction to it, he had asked himself a couple times if he even _wanted_ Melina back. Jeff was far more exciting, intriguing, and interesting. John was open-minded and never ruled something like this out. Since having put the game in motion, it seemed less like he was pursuing popularity and spotlight than it seemed like he was pursuing his own interests and curiosities.

He had Jeff where he wanted him. He was showing some resistance, but John was getting to him. He was starting to break down his barriers and starting to get under his skin, if he wasn't already.

"What makes you think I actually have motives?" John asked. "You make it sound like I have reasons or intent to befriend you or save you from bad stuff. Can't a guy just be nice because he wants to be?"

"Don't you try pulling that with me, I know you're up to something," Jeff said. "You think I don't notice it when you give me weird looks from across the room? When you smirk at me and give me 'come hither' looks? I don't know what it's about or why you do it, but I hardly care. All I want is to be able to sleep easy at night without having to worry my girlfriend over my hair falling out or how stressed I look that day, or why I'm always so edgy. And all this happens because of _you_." Jeff took a few steps towards him and jabbed a finger at him. "I'm warning you, Morrison. Enough with the crap."

Unfortunately, it seemed to John that if he wanted to continue the game, he was going to have to get inside his mind, and it seemed like the only way to do that was to break down his barriers. And it seemed like the only way to do _that_ was to mess with him, and he almost had to be a creeper and a jerk to do it. Then again, if he really _was_ coming on to Jeff and making advances on him (which Jeff had probably picked up already, having just accused him of giving him "come hither" looks) and Jeff was resisting, then Jeff wasn't interested or as open-minded as he was. But it felt like he was using Jeff just because he could, and was well on his way to succeeding. He didn't want to be a jerk to Jeff, but if Jeff indeed was starting to let his guard down around him, then maybe his advances wouldn't be perceived as such.

John narrowed the gap between them, grabbing Jeff's outstretched hand. Jeff backed up against the wall nervously, though he tried not to show it. Though they were both the same height, it seemed like John was looming over him. It was kind of intimidating, not knowing what John intended to do or what he would do if given the chance. John leaned in closer towards the older man.

"Try and stop me," he whispered.

Jeff was in shock.

"Have a good day, Jeff," John said, suddenly cheery. He released Jeff's hand and walked away. Jeff remained where he was against the wall, completely stunned, hand aching, mind swimming. He had not expected that at all, and didn't know what to do now. It seemed more now like John was making advances on him and had absolutely no intention of stopping, or even toning it down any. If anything, Jeff's resistance was just further encouraging this kind of behavior from him. What was he supposed to tell Matt? What was he supposed to tell Beth? He was even edgier than before. There was no way that they weren't going to notice. Beth was going to call him out on it for sure.

He felt trapped.

"Where have you been?" Matt asked.

Jeff had taken much longer than usual in reaching his and Matt's lockerroom today. He walked in slowly, shaky, and anxious. "Sorry, Matt. Ran in to some people on my way back from my match."

"Oh, okay," Matt said. "Hey I heard Morrison is here. Have you seen him yet?"

Jeff's heart skipped a beat and a chill ran through him. "N-no, I haven't." So far, it seemed like he had ruled out telling Beth about what was happening with the John Morrison Situation. But Matt was his brother. Matt was the last person he would ever want to hold secrets from. But what else was he supposed to do?

"—the car?"

"What?" Jeff asked, tuning himself back to Matt's words.

"I said, did you get all of the bags from the car?" Matt repeated. "It seems like we're missing something." He furrowed his brow. Jeff was on edge again, and his hands looked like they were shaking. "Jeff, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just tired," Jeff said, quickly. "Punk really did a number on me tonight."

"I thought Vince said he was going to tell Punk to take it easy on you."

"You know, it's Punk," Jeff said. "I wouldn't expect too much out of either of them, really. I'll go back to the car to check."

Jeff quickly grabbed his keys and exited the room. As soon as he shut the door, he let out the huge breath he had been holding, and his hands shook violently for a few seconds before subsiding. Frustrated and conflicted, he ran a hand through his hair, and then made his way off towards the parking lot.

**.xXx.**

"Randy, what am I _doing?_"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, John."

They were hanging out in Randy's locker-room. He was supposed to make a surprise appearance on Smackdown later that night, and was currently lacing up his boots. John was sitting on the bench beside the lockers, leaning forward.

"You still talking about that girl?" Randy asked.

"Yeah, sure," John said, voice trailing off.

"Okay. So what did you do now?"

"I kind of feel like I'm going about this the wrong way," John said.

"Very nice, John, but that's not really what I asked," Randy said, putting on his other boot.

"That was _essentially_ what you asked," John retorted. "I'm trying to win her over, right? But I'm going at it the wrong way. I think she's giving in, but I don't think she's happy about it."

"Well then obviously you have to come up with a new way to pursue her that will make you both happy."

"What if I've already gone past the point of no return and she thinks I'm a jerk?"

"Hell, John, that doesn't sound like you," Randy said. "You're usually better than this."

"I know, that's the thing," John said. "There's just something about her that makes me do things I wouldn't normally. I would go so far for her, do such crazy things to get her. I don't know, Randy."

"I'm so confused right now, you have no idea," Randy sighed. "Does she like you?"

"I'm working on that," John said. "But there's still the problem of you know…acting like a jerk around her to get her to like me."

"God, what kind of woman are you chasing?" Randy asked. "Sorry, but I do my best to be a gentleman around Samantha, and she likes me perfectly well."

"I don't know what I'm doing, Randy. Sorry to bother you."

"You're a strange guy, John, but I'm sure you have a lot on your mind, seeing as how you've been through so much lately," Randy said. "But hey, I'm still your friend, and I'll continue to sit here and listen to all your problems if that's what you want."

"Can you listen to one more thing?"

Randy shifted his feet around. "Sure, John."

"What if the fact that she's resisting me makes me like her more than ever, and I'm pursuing her _because_ I know that she's giving in to me, despite what she says?" he asked.

"You're both weird," Randy said, standing up. "But here's what I have to say: gauge her reaction to you and what you're doing. If she really doesn't mind what you're doing, then you've probably already won her over and can now pursue her in a way that won't make you seem like a jerk. If she keeps trying to resist you, maybe you should reel it back in some. Don't try chasing what you can't catch, you know? If she does indeed like you or she really is giving in to you, she'll come to you."

Randy had no idea what John was talking about, he knew that. But he smiled because aside from the fact that Randy respected him enough not to pry or ask questions, his advice was still pretty much spot-on.

"Thanks, Randy," John said, also standing. "I know I haven't been the easiest person to give advice to, but you really are helpful."

"I'm glad," Randy said. "You'll get through this. I know you will."

Randy patted him on the back, and then he was gone. And once again, John was left to ponder his situation by himself. He kind of liked moments like this. It gave him some much needed time to think himself over. But he needed to get some things done before going back to the hotel. So he got up and walked out of the room.

It was obvious to him that Jeff didn't like him very much, or approved of the game and what he was doing. But it was also obvious that he was interesting and intriguing enough to risk it. It didn't seem like that much of a risk—Jeff was well on his was to submitting to him. He could feel it.

He had already ruled out the possibility that he was using Jeff to gain popularity. The game wasn't about spotlight anymore. He had also considered the fact that maybe he was trying to use Jeff to fill the lack of romantic intrigue in his life. But what if there was something else to it?

Not too long ago, John had made an unexpected interference when he spontaneously saved Jeff from the Hart Dynasty. He had gone well out of his way and risked his career to save him from a scripted beat down, and he didn't even know why—the damn thing was _scripted_. But maybe he just wanted to let Jeff know that he cared about him, and the only way to do that was to do something unexpected like that. But the reaction that he was getting from Jeff wasn't quite the one he expected. And they were both unhappy about it. He knew why Jeff was unhappy with him, but what about John? He wasn't happy because of the resistance he was getting from Jeff.

So was that it? Did he feel like because he saved him from a beat down that Jeff automatically owed him? Did he feel like Jeff should be obliged to give in to him?

"No, that's not right," John said. "That's even more wrong than the game. It has to be something else."

He had been walking for some time now, and hadn't paid much attention to where he was going. In truth, when he left Randy's dressing room, he hadn't had a set destination in mind. He now found himself, not in the main hallways of the backstage area of the arena, but in the back route, leading to the parking lots. This particular hallway was nearly always empty. After shows, Superstars would usually take the main route out to the parking lot where fans were waiting, so as to interact with and mingle with them on their way to their cars. Those who wished to bypass such a hold-up took this route. But more often than not, the Superstars chose to mingle with the fans.

John decided that he had done all he could for today. He was actually not competing that night, but brought his gear so he and R-Truth could train together after the show in preparation for their upcoming tag team storyline. He came to the arena to look for him, but it looked like he hadn't arrived yet. He had run into a friend of Truth's, though, and told him to tell Truth to call him when he arrived. In the meantime, he supposed there was nothing left to do except go back to his hotel room and kill time.

His plans changed in an instant when he neared the exit door, it opened, and Jeff Hardy walked inside. John immediately conjured up a new idea to partake in in lieu of going back to his hotel that in every way involved Jeff and the continuation of the game. But a few seconds later, he decided to mind Randy's advice and simply let him be.

Jeff walked into the hallway, carrying a small backpack and his set of car keys. After closing the door behind himself, he turned around and promptly froze upon seeing John Morrison walking towards him. Jeff had actually specifically chosen this hallway to take to and from the parking lot. This was perhaps the last place he expected to encounter John, but now he found himself alone with the man in a completely deserted and isolated hallway. He managed to compose himself again quickly thereafter, suppressing his shaking hands and racing heart, and willed his feet to move forward.

And then they had passed each other. No tricks, no strange looks, no advances…Jeff turned around. John was walking towards the door, having just completely ignored him. Had he actually listened to him when he told him to stop? That wasn't possible—John implied that he had no intent on doing so. Jeff had prepared himself for the worst, braced himself for whatever he was going to throw at him. And then nothing came. What was he up to?

Now was probably a good a time as any to try and take control of the situation. Jeff psyched himself up and swallowed.

"I meant what I said, you know."

John had his hand on the door when Jeff spoke. He stopped and turned around slowly. Here he was, trying to give Jeff some space like he wanted, but now it seemed to him like Jeff _wanted_ to cause trouble. John laughed slightly. That was so like him.

"Hmm?"

"When I said I want the crap to stop. I was serious," Jeff said. He was feeling more confident now.

John half-grinned. "So was I."

Jeff felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. Perhaps John hadn't listened to him after all. But he looked like he was well on his way out of the arena. Could it be that by provoking him and stopping him from reaching the parking lot, he had changed John's mind about leaving him alone?

"_Listen,_ Morrison, I'm really tired of this" Jeff said warningly. "But though I've got to admit, you are the last person I would expect to be sexually harassed by. But that by no means should make you think that you can use that to get away with this."

John closed his eyes and smiled in amusement. Oh Jeff, your ignorance is adorable. Is that what it's come down to now? _Sexual harassment?_ There was perhaps every good reason in the world to make Jeff think that he was sexually harassing him, but that was still a far cry from his intentions. At least he was closer, now.

"John," Jeff continued, "you can harass me and try to intimidate me all you want, but you wanted me to try and stop you, so that's what I intend to do. Either knock it off, or I'm reporting you."

Jeff thought he had won. He thought that he had finally gotten through to the creep, and that the weirdness would end. He was frustrated that it had to come to this, but what was he supposed to do? Well, hopefully this would do the trick. Jeff turned around and started to walk back towards his dressing room, fairly satisfied and feeling a hell of a lot better.

As soon as the words left Jeff's mouth, something clicked in the back of John's head that shut out Randy's advice and flooded him with bitterness and fury. Not too long after John had been drafted to Smackdown, he started doing spontaneous things towards Jeff, positive or otherwise. Since the initiation of the game, though, he found his acts to be more on the "otherwise" side, but never anything so terribly drastic. He was still contemplating whether or not he loved Jeff or was indeed using him to fulfill romantic desires. But then again…Jeff didn't like him. Hell, he was even willing to report him for this.

So what the hell did it matter if he loved him or not?

Jeff turned and started walking. He took so much as three steps away from him before John reeled around, grabbed him by the shoulder, and threw him hard against the wall. Jeff's head cracked on the hard concrete and he cried out in pain and anger, dropping the backpack and his keys. John was holding him by a wrist and a shoulder, effectively pinning him to the wall. John wasn't even sure what he was doing. By now it didn't even seem like he had control over himself, as his better judgment had been clouded over with anger. He knew full well that he could be risking his position in the WWE by doing this. But something had snapped inside him.

"You know what, Jeff?" John growled, glaring at him. Jeff's breathing had become rapid, and his expression was still pained. "You just crack me up, you really do. Hey Jeff, do everyone a favor and try not to waste management's time with your trivial problems. 'Oh no, John Morrison is looking at me weird, make him stop!' They'll slap me on the wrist, and then what, Jeff? _Then what?_"

"Fuck, John—!"

John cut him off by grinding himself abruptly into Jeff, drawing a sharp gasp from the older man. "Since you're so sick of me, why don't you actually try to stop me? Why don't you actually try to threaten my job in the WWE? How about my career? _That'll_ be more worth their while, don't you think?" He removed his hand from Jeff's wrist and placed it on his chin, leaning forward. "So let me help you give them something that's actually _worth reporting_."

His hand moved to the back of his head and crushed his mouth against Jeff's. And Jeff…just stood there, completely frozen. John hadn't actually planned on kissing Jeff. Not just now, but at _all._ He had no idea how far he wanted to drag Jeff into this game, how far he even wanted the game to go, or how much he wanted to reel it back in per Randy's advice. But as he stood there, against the wall with this intriguing, curious man in an act he never thought he'd find himself in, he couldn't deny that it didn't feel wrong.

And what of poor Jeff? He seemed too shocked to even process what was happening. He was clearly uncomfortable, but he wasn't moving. He _seemed_ unresponsive, but at the same time, he wasn't making an effort to resist. Maybe…just maybe, he needed a push.

The second Jeff felt John's tongue on his lips, trying to pry its way into his mouth, something clicked sharply in the back of his head. His eyebrows furrowed, feeling John on him, holding him to the wall, pushing their faces together, feeling unfamiliar lips on his. His eyes shot open and he made a muffled sound against John's mouth. His heart accelerated to a hundred beats per second as he realized what was happening:

_He's KISSING me!_

As though he were trying to break free of imaginary intense restraints, he grinded his limbs against the wall and starting tensing up. The tension built to a breaking point, and with a furious cry, he tore his face away from John's and punched him in the face as hard as he could, sending a resonating echo racing down the hallway.

"_Get the hell off me, you son of a bitch!_" Jeff shouted. John staggered a few feet back, a hand over his burning jaw. And the two of them stood there, both breathing heavily as they tried to collect themselves. Fear coursed through John's body. If Jeff reported this, there was no way he _wasn't_ going to get fired. Why couldn't he have just listened to Randy and gone back to the hotel like he was _supposed_ to?

Jeff was still heaving against the wall, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. "What was _that?_" he yelled. "Did you just rape me? What the _fuck_! I have a girlfriend, you fag!"

John reeled at the harshness of Jeff's words, and as his jaw continued to burn intensely, he wondered if it had been dislocated and if kissing him was the wisest thing to do. But at the same time, he couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation. His face stung, and he was worried, but still smiled despite taking offense to what Jeff just said. For a brief moment, he reconsidered the game and his feelings for Jeff. What if he told his brother? His girlfriend? But he found a flaw with what Jeff said, and managed to stave off any doubts he had.

"_Me?_" he said, smirking. "You know, Jeff, when I kissed you, you didn't hit me right away."

Jeff's blood ran cold with realization and shock. Knowing that John was right made him numb, and he leaned against the wall weakly. Frantically, he tried to search for a way out.

"Well…you—you were pinning me to the wall…" he tried, feebly.

_Really?_ John thought. _That's not a very good excuse._

"Nope," he said. "I was only holding one of your wrists. You could have easily stopped me if you wanted to…without being so brash, I might add."

"Oh my god…" Jeff breathed. He slumped against the wall heavily with a hand on his forehead. He stayed like that for several profound seconds. John stared at him, and for a moment there, he thought he had won, that he had finally broken down Jeff's barriers. He was both amused and worried, but this time his worry was directed towards Jeff's reaction to himself.

"John…" Jeff started. "Um, look, I uh…about the fag thing…I don't know—I mean, I've never said anything like that before. I have nothing against…well—I mean, I…uh, I'm sorry, John." He simply did not know how to feel.

John's smile faltered slightly with surprise. He was _sorry?_ But he knew, somehow he just _knew_, that Jeff wasn't going to report him for this. He wasn't going to lose his job, and the game was going to continue. The game was going to continue because it was going oh so _perfectly._ He knew that Jeff's walls were starting to break down, and sooner or later…he was going to succumb to him.

John smiled. "Don't be," he said. "I got what I wanted."

And it was true. The kiss, as impromptu as it was, felt so right to him. He wasn't angry, and he wasn't worried. But rather, he was satisfied. Satisfied because in a way, this is what the game was set out to do. Given time, he might be able to finish it. But today…did he succeed? That, he didn't quite know yet.

He turned and left, and in seconds, he was out the door. Jeff was still half in shock and still immensely confused. He didn't know what else to do. He wasn't even sure what just happened. He felt like he should have been worried about John's reply, that he should be wary. It didn't at all seem like this nonsense was over yet. But either Jeff was still too utterly dumbstruck to think of how he should feel…or it just didn't really bother him that much anymore.

It was a strange feeling, putting it lightly.

_John Morrison, what are you up to?_

End Chapter 3

By the way, "frumpy" means "drab or unattractive." So Jeff's hair was frumpy/messed up because he had just come out of a match. John probably thought it resembled sex hair, hence why he said "gives me ideas." I still maintain that there will be no sex, though. XD  
oh and the "Jeff vs. CM Punk" and "Randy Orton appearing on Smackdown" things? Totally made those up. I've been trying to follow WWE's actual storylines, but I've been lazy. Hope you guys don't mind.  
Reviews, please!


	4. Aftermath

This is almost over. Probably one more chapter to go. Keep those reviews coming!**  
Warnings: **more sexuality in this chapter. Actually, this is probably the chapter with the most sexuality out of the whole story.  
**Disclaimers:** I don't own WWE or am affiliated with WWE or its Superstars/Divas. Please be nice to me, Jeff and John.  
**Reviews and Critique:**always welcomed!

**Chapter 4: aftermath**

John's jaw was fine. It turns out that Jeff didn't dislocate it, but rather he left him with a very nasty bruise instead. The following week, John drew a lot of unwanted attention from backstage personnel because of it. Everyone he encountered asked him about the bruise, and John rattled off as many excuses as he could think of:

_Oh, R-Truth and I were training yesterday and I let my guard down._

_I walked into an open locker door._

_I tripped and hit my face on a bedpost last night at the hotel._

He rattled off anything he could think of that sounded legitimate and protected Jeff and his own career. Despite whatever consolation John had given himself the previous week, he still continued to feel underlying twinges of worry. He probably also would have felt guilt had he not been absolutely certain that Jeff blamed himself for the situation. Maybe it was a bad thing to be taking advantage of someone like this, to be manipulating the feelings of someone he cared about just to—

"Hey, John…"

John turned around. He was on his way to the locker rooms, bag in hand, to start getting ready for that night's tapings. He would have arrived some time sooner, if only he hadn't been stopped every ten feet by people asking him what happened to his face. Vince assured him that the make-up artists on-hand would help him with that. So at this moment, he thought he was going to be stopped by another curious observer, but when he saw who it was that stopped him, he became fairly certain that he wasn't going to be further interviewed about his bruise.

"Hey, Jeff."

Jeff fidgeted a little. "Listen, uh…" He was still uncomfortable. Uncomfortable, but succumbing; John could feel it in his words. "Sorry about, you know…that." He pointed to a corner of his own mouth, referencing John's bruise. "And uh…thanks for covering for me."

"Yes, well thank _you_ for not ratting me out," John said.

Jeff raised his eyebrows. "Honestly, it never occurred to me."

John gaped slightly. _Really?_ It seemed to him like Jeff didn't want to hurt him or compromise his job. This was going far better than expected. But how much longer could he carry on with this? Just how far could he take it at all?

"I appreciate that." He started moving forward and had his hand half-raised, not quite sure of what he wanted to do here. Kiss him? Hug him? Pat him on the shoulder?

Reflexively, Jeff took a step away from him. John stopped, slightly confused. Then he smiled and laughed lightly. "See you later, Jeff." He turned and left.

Jeff stood there with himself, alone in the hallway and positively burning on the inside.

_Idiot!_ he thought. _Why did you tell him that? Now he's going to think you don't __care__ that he's trying to mess with you!_

"Jeff!"

Jeff looked up to see Matt walking towards him. They had arrived at the arena together, but Matt had to take off ahead of him to go talk to the general manager. As he approached, Jeff saw that Matt looked like he had something to ask him. He didn't know if anything good would come from this.

"I just saw Morrison back there," Matt said, jabbing a finger over his shoulder. "Did you do that?" He pointed to his jaw.

Jeff shook his head. "Well, he and Ron were training last night. Guess it got out of hand." He hated lying to Matt. But then again…this wasn't really lying. The two Superstars _did_ train together last night. How would he know if it had gotten out of hand or not? For all he knew, R-Truth may very well have roughed him up too.

"Thought so," Matt said. "You said you two were going to patch things up, so I didn't want to think that _you_ were the one who got carried away." Jeff let out a breath. "So. _Did_ you clear things up with him?"

"What?" This question had caught him off guard. He definitely did not patch things up with John Morrison, but it could be argued that he had _cleared_ things up with him. Certainly not in a way that Jeff liked, or in a way that would satisfy Matt. He didn't want to tell him John kissed him, but he also didn't want to lie to him anymore.

"Well enough" was the answer he settled on. A part of him was hoping that since he didn't report the situation, John would be nice enough to leave him alone now. Maybe John would take this as a warning.

Matt eyed him suspiciously. Jeff fidgeted uncomfortably, wishing that Matt would go away. If he wasn't here anymore, he wouldn't have to keep lying to him and he would never have to tell him what happened with John.

The feeling of his phone vibrating in his pocket both spared him and jolted him out of his stupor. Grateful, he pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. He had gotten a text message, but not from the person he hoped for.

"What's up?" Matt asked as Jeff sighed in frustration.

"Been expecting Beth," Jeff said, not even bothering to reply to it. "A call, a text, or _anything_. She didn't seem all right when we left for the airport. I've sent her a couple texts but she hasn't replied yet."

He looked up at Matt, who was also glancing at his own phone. He was scrolling through messages with a slightly guilty look on his face. Jeff raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Have you heard from her?"

It was several seconds before Matt replied. "Yeah, kind of. We talked a little before we left, and she sent me a text an hour or so ago, just checking to see if we made it okay."

Jeff was utterly bewildered. "Why didn't she text _me?_"

"Well to be honest, she's a little upset with you."

Jeff stared at his brother, gaping. He was stunned by the news, but knew that he probably should have expected it.

"She says you've been short with her, avoiding certain questions, really jumpy at whatnot lately, haven't been resting even though she told you to," Matt said, looking anywhere but at Jeff. "She says last time she called you, you never called back."

Not long after Jeff's unpleasant confrontation with John Morrison in the backstage hallways last week, he discovered that he missed a call from Beth. He figured that between John throwing him against walls and kissing him, he had been too numb to feel his phone vibrating. The aftershock and lying through his teeth to Matt about where he was simply pushed from his mind the thought of returning her call.

"Well, I was going to see her the next day anyway, wasn't I?"

"Jeff, you never miss a call from her," Matt said. "And when you do, you always return it. I _know_ you do. You've flipped out about missing calls from her before. And considering her concerns about you right now, I would think that calling her back would be top on your list of priorities."

Jeff swallowed. "I…I just got caught up in…talking to people. Someone," he managed, correcting himself before he realized the words were out of his mouth.

"Was it John Morrison?"

He wished he could get away from Matt right now. He prayed for a phone call, for someone to come looking for him, for any kind of distraction or escape. He didn't know if Matt was catching on or not, but even more than that he wanted to get away from Matt; he didn't want him to know about what happened with John.

"She thinks you're hiding something from her," said Matt, finally.

Correction: more than anything, he didn't want _Beth_ to know.

Jeff felt numb. He could only manage to shake his head.

Matt stared at him and seemed to be forcing himself to accept Jeff's response. "Right, well I'm not going to tell her that. You can clear things up with her yourself. Give her a call and see if she picks up, 'kay?" He pulled his bag over his shoulder.

Jeff nodded weakly. "Yeah. I'll do that."

"Good. See you after the show."

Jeff glanced at his phone, bearing text messages that had no replies and phone calls that had not been returned. There was a twinge of guilt in the pit of his stomach. He looked up to say goodbye to Matt, but he was already walking away.

Jeff felt even worse than before.

**.xXx.**

The show came and went, perhaps faster than it normally did. Whether it was due to the fact that he won his match that night, or because he just so badly wanted the night to end already, he didn't know. Jeff had the feeling that Matt wasn't too happy with him right now. They both had talked casually about their respective matches while packing up in the locker rooms, but as soon as they got in the car and started driving off to the hotel, all speaking ceased.

"Great day this has been so far," Jeff muttered, taking their room key from the front desk manager.

"Yep."

Jeff knew Matt wasn't agreeing, but seemed more like he was acknowledging that his brother wasn't having the best of times. It created an awkward tension.

"Still, you won your match," Matt said as they stepped into the elevator.

"Somehow, I don't think that will make Beth stop being mad at me."

"What, you didn't call her?"

"She didn't pick up, so I left her a message," Jeff muttered. "You know…_again_."

The doors opened. Jeff seized his bags and strode quickly out of the elevator. Matt hung back a couple paces to make sure Jeff couldn't see him before pulling out his phone. As Jeff jammed the room key into the door, Matt finished up his text message, sent it, and put his phone away.

"Can I ask you something?" Jeff said as they walked into their room.

"Sure."

"Do you agree with her? That you know…I'm hiding something from her?"

Matt bit his lip, a little put off by this question. "I don't want to believe it, so I haven't given it much thought," he answered finally. "I'm sure you're not, though," he added quickly, seeing Jeff's expression.

Jeff threw his bags down and collapsed face-down onto the nearest bed. Matt glanced at him as he started to unpack, sincerely feeling sorry for him. "Hey, Jeff."

"What?" Jeff did not turn to look at him. His question was muffled by the bed sheets.

Matt walked over to sit on the edge of his bed. Curious, Jeff looked up, and rolled over onto his back when he saw Matt was sitting next to him. "Bro, listen," Matt started. "You know I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I don't know what this is about, or what's going on with you and Beth."

Jeff noticed he didn't say anything about him and John Morrison.

"You've got a lot going on right now, I understand that," Matt continued. "I know Beth is giving you crap, and I probably did too today. It's probably more than you want to deal with, so…I'm sorry. She'll come around, right? Always does."

He clasped a hand onto Jeff's shoulder. Jeff forced a smile.

Matt got up and went back to unpacking. Somewhere beyond the bed, Jeff heard his phone vibrating. He found it lying on the floor next to his luggage, bearing a message from Beth.

"She texted me," Jeff said.

"She didn't call you back?" Matt asked, surprised. He looked through his phone for the message he just sent her to make sure he had specifically asked her to call Jeff and not just merely text him. He then realized that he hadn't specified, but no matter—at least she was talking to him again.

"Guess she's still kind of mad," Jeff replied, shrugging and opening the message:

_How was your day?_

_**Getting better,**_ he replied.

_Sorry._

_**Me too.**_

_I just worry about you, you know…I don't like it when you hide things from me. I love you so much, Jeff. You know you can tell me anything, right?_

He hesitated. Beth's words rang in his head and his guilt was making him sick. She said he could tell her anything, but he couldn't. He just _couldn't._ How was he supposed to tell her about John Morrison? It was _his_ fault that John had that bruise, and he was probably the reason John was driven to kiss him anyway.

_**Of course I do. I just don't know where to start.**_

And that was the truth. It wasn't so much that it would be immensely difficult to put his situation into appropriate words if he were to tell her, but rather like he himself didn't know _what_ his situation _was_ exactly. He didn't know what John was up to. There was of course the possibility that he was using him, but he didn't really know how or what for.

_Why's he doing this…?_ he wondered.

"Hey Jeff, you have next week's schedule yet?" Matt asked.

"Oh right, lemme check," Jeff said, shoving John Morrison from his mind. He switched over to his iPhone's browser, glad for the distraction. After about a minute, he was able to answer Matt's question. "Well, I don't see it in my email anywhere…"

Matt frowned. "Odd. Maybe Randy has it?"

"I'd have to go check with him," Jeff said. "I think I know where his room is."

Jeff got up and walked towards the door, stowing his phone away in his pocket. He had run in to Randy Orton down in the lobby before the show while checking in. During their casual conversation, he was pretty sure Randy said he was staying on the same floor as him, though he could only vaguely remember what room it was. Beth ignoring him and John messing with him had both thoroughly distracted him and pushed all else from his mind.

He recognized the room number once he saw it. The door was slightly ajar, so he knocked on it. Someone inside told him to come in, but it wasn't Randy. He pushed the door open and took a few steps inside, looking around for any sign of Randy. There was someone sitting on one of the beds across the room, and he froze at the sight of him.

He must have been tuned out when Randy told him that he was staying with John Morrison.

For a second, Jeff considered turning around and heading back for his room as fast as he could, but his feet wouldn't move. He was flooded with guilt and dread upon seeing John, but what would Matt say? He didn't want to leave without the schedule, and he most certainly didn't want to have to explain the situation to his brother, who was still, for the most part, in the dark.

John was typing on his laptop when Jeff walked in. He looked up towards the door and stopped typing when he saw Jeff standing there instead of Randy.

"Jeff," he said, surprised. "What uh…" He paused. He was about to ask him what he was doing here, but then he stopped to ask himself if it really mattered. Jeff was here, in his hotel room, in what was probably a most opportune moment indeed. He had come to him, just like Randy said he would. In a split second, he changed tactics. "What can I do for you?" He gave him a little smirk, shifting his body towards Jeff's direction.

Jeff grimaced. "_Don't_ get any ideas, John. I spared you a whole lot of uncomfortable questioning and compromise by not reporting you to the executives, my brother, _or_ my girlfriend." He took a couple steps into the room, the door closing behind him.

"Noted," John said, his smile faltering a little. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to know if you or Randy had gotten the schedule email from the GM yet," Jeff said.

"I did, don't know about Randy," John replied. "You didn't?"

"No, not yet."

"Weird," John mused. "Okay, come here."

Jeff eyed him warily. John glanced at him, bemused.

"Type in your email address and I'll forward it to you," John said, firmly, holding up the laptop. He scooted over on the bed, clearly indicating Jeff to sit down.

Jeff kicked himself on the inside. "Fine."

He walked slowly to the bed and then stopped. For a moment, he considered just taking John's laptop and type in his email address standing up. But then he looked once at John's bruise, and once at the spot on the bed John had made for him, had a twinge of guilt, and sat down.

John handed his laptop to him once he had taken a seat. Jeff took it wordlessly and started to navigate the website, typing in his email address. As he was working, John started to lean closer to him, slowly and subtly. Jeff did his best to ignore him. He finished up and thrust the laptop back at John to keep him from further advancing on him. John caught it and found his hands inadvertently overlapping Jeff's. They stared at each other for a while in a mixture of awkward curiosity and want.

Jeff's mind blanked out as soon as John's hands touched his. John's eyes were dark, mysterious. Something was going on inside his head, but his face gave no hints. He had apologized to John earlier that night for the bruise, but his heart wasn't in it. He knew it at the time, and knew it now. He had an unexplainable desire to apologize again—the bruise, the offensive slur…But what of all the things _John_ did to _him?_ Surely an apology was deserved on his part, too?

_Right. Wishful thinking, Jeff._

He coughed once and pulled his hands out of John's. John smirked a bit.

"Thanks," he said. "I'll get right on it."

Jeff muttered a half-hearted "thanks" to him with the intent to leave. He had, after all, no further reason to stay. If anything, getting away from him should be top on his list of things to do. He had been trying to avoid him for weeks, nearly turned back when he entered his room tonight, but now…he didn't know why, but he didn't want to leave quite yet. He had even straightened up and started to move his legs off the bed, but stopped. It was the oddest emotional combination of curiosity and fear.

He knew what John was capable of. The man had daringly kissed him just a week ago and very well could have gotten in a heap of trouble for it, had Jeff reported it. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and let John continue enjoying being employed. Surely this earned him a favor from John? If John knew what was good for him, he wouldn't try anything again; Jeff might not be so merciful next time. But yet, this was John Morrison he was dealing with. Given that he had been playing with his head for the last couple months, getting him to stop playing mind tricks with him would probably be as easy as keeping the sun from rising tomorrow.

And yet, he had to give credit to John. Yes, he's playing mind tricks with him, but he sure knows how to do it and do it _well_. Jeff still didn't know exactly what this game was or why he was doing it, but he'd be damned if that man wasn't one hell of a methodical trickster. He would probably be more impressed if he wasn't caught in the middle of it. And with the impression came curiosity and fear: what _else_ could John do to him, knowing that he was torn between playing the game and keeping his job?

Jeff was feeling a little daring.

"So uh…where _is_ Randy?" he asked.

John raised an eyebrow. Was it possible that Jeff Hardy was _taunting_ him? He knew the game made him feel adventurous, but never would have thought it would have the same effect on Jeff. He had thought Jeff was trying to resist him—that's what was twisting the game and making it challenging for him. But then again…if he had carried through with the game and saw it through to the end, then he would expect Jeff to give in to him. Was that what Jeff was doing now? No, it couldn't be; the game was not over yet. Jeff was just testing him. John smirked aside to himself—it was funny how the game brought out the daredevils in both of them.

"He met up with some friends and they went out," John answered. He hit the "Send" button and closed his laptop, putting it aside. "He won't be back for a while."

As he spoke, he leaned over across Jeff, putting a hand on either side of him. Jeff found himself trapped between John's arms, pinned to the backboard of the bed with nowhere to go. A chill ran through his blood. If he was willing to continue playing games with Jeff, to even _kiss_ him again, then it seemed like John didn't really care about further jeopardizing his career. But why was that? Did he know something that Jeff didn't?

John was staring him dead in the eyes. Jeff's eyes were wide and apprehensive, but curious. Of course they were, why else would he have taunted him? He wanted to know why John was still so comfortable with his job security after what happened last week. He supposed he had the game to thank for that.

"You know, uh…M-Matt's expecting me back soon…" Jeff said. He had been curious, he knew it, though he probably should have already known. It's not like he could have expected anything less from John Morrison.

"Your point?" John replied.

Jeff tried to back away from him, but couldn't flatten himself against the backboard any further. He could have turned his head away, but John's tantalizing, dark eyes firmly held his gaze up until he closed them and he kissed him for the second time. It was gentle at first and again, Jeff froze and became unresponsive, but this time, he was fully aware of what was going on.

The conscious comprehension allowed him to think, despite his swimming mind. John was soft, gentle, a far cry from last week's encounter. He had always known him to be brash, harsh and rough. He never would have expected to see passion and softness from Johnny Nitro. But maybe that's why he wasn't Johnny Nitro anymore.

John noticed Jeff wasn't protesting or trying to get away this time, and it pleased him. He parted his lips a little, taking more of Jeff's mouth in his. Jeff blankly slacked his jaw slightly, allowing John to deepen the kiss. John put a hand on the side of Jeff's face. His hand was calloused from weightlifting and fighting, but still had a surprisingly soft touch to them.

It reminded him of Beth.

Jeff wasn't trying to escape, but he wasn't kissing him back either. To John, this was pretty good progress already. He climbed on top of Jeff and started kissing his neck. He started moving southward, kissing his collarbone and running his hands over Jeff's abdomen. Jeff started to tense up and had to grab two fistfuls of the bedsheets to keep from striking him again. John's hands found Jeff's belt and he pushed his shirt off of it. Jeff released the sheets to shove John's hands away from his belt. In turn, John grabbed Jeff by his ankles and pulled him away from the backboard and into a laying position. He sat on Jeff's hips as he pulled off his shirt. He slid his hands up Jeff's abdomen and chest as he started to lie down on top of him.

Jeff would admit that he had been curious to see what John would do to him if given the chance, but never imagined that he would go so far as this. He was even surprised at himself of how long he had allowed this to go on. He didn't care that he felt guilty for punching John last week, he didn't care that he felt bad for calling him a fag. It was bad enough that he had sat there and let John kiss him, but he was starting to take things too far, and he had to stop him.

He threw a hand against John's shoulder, half-grabbing him by the throat. "_Stop_," he said, trying to catch his breath.

John took Jeff's hand and placed it on his chest. "Is that really what you want?"

Jeff was taken aback. He had no answer for that.

John pried himself in between Jeff's legs. Jeff tried to kick him off, but John grabbed his thrashing legs and held him still.

"Beth?" Jeff asked, weakly.

"What about her?"

Jeff looked like he was going to open his mouth and say something, so John silenced him by thrusting against Jeff. Jeff gave a wide-eyed, silent gasp and seized the bedsheets again. John flattened himself against Jeff, kissing his neck again while grinding him through his jeans. Jeff grabbed the younger man by the shoulders with shaking hands.

"No…" he breathed, dragging his nails down John's arms. He was torn between his love for Beth and the feeling he was getting from what John was doing. He didn't know if he was enjoying it or not; his head was far too dizzy. He tried to push John off, but it was feeble.

John's hands found Jeff's hips again. He started to pull his shirt off of his pantsline again, but Jeff's phone started ringing. Startled by the noise, John stopped what he was doing and Jeff regained his senses. He suddenly found the strength to shove John off of him and they both sat up, with Jeff's legs still on either side of John's hips. Jeff hurriedly pulled the phone from his pocket and fumbled with it for a few seconds.

"Hello?" His voice was shaky.

"_Jeff!_" It was Matt. John could hear him speaking loudly. Both he and Jeff looked panicked. What would happen if Jeff told him?

"H-hey, Matt," Jeff started.

"_Where the hell did you go? You've been gone for like, ten minutes!"_ Matt yelled.

Jeff looked to John and was surprised to see that he actually looked _worried_. Jeff didn't rat him out last week—perhaps he was now taking Jeff for granted, ensuring himself that if he didn't rat him out before, he wouldn't do it this time. But now, Jeff was actually in a situation where he was being confronted. He hated lying to Matt, but couldn't help but feel a bit of pity towards John. He _had_ provoked him after all.

"_Did you get lost again?_" Matt asked.

"No, I uh…"

Suddenly, John grabbed the phone from him. "That'd be my bad, Matt, sorry."

There was a short pause. "_Oh, hey John._"

"Yeah, Jeff got here and I sent him the email and we started talking," John said, casually. "I reminded myself of something I wanted to show him, so he's been here the whole time. Sorry for holding him up. He's on his way now."

Matt thanked him and they both hung up. For a while, Jeff and John stayed where they were. Jeff was staring at John, but he wouldn't return the gaze. John looked almost _guilty_.

"Get going," he said suddenly, throwing Jeff's phone back at him. "He's expecting you."

He pushed Jeff's legs off of him and resumed his spot on the bed, sitting up against the backboard and pulling his computer back onto his lap. Jeff remained frozen, shocked by what happened. He couldn't believe he had provoked him, allowed him to take advantage of him as much as he did, or that he had very nearly defended him when Matt came calling. He was absolutely torn on the inside.

"I uh…thanks for the email, I guess," Jeff said, quietly.

He got off the bed and staggered towards the door. They didn't say anything else to each other. There was nothing more to say.

**.xXx.**

Neither Jeff nor Matt was fighting the next night, but they still arrived to the arena for house shows to hang out with their friend Greg Helms. Things were a little unspoken between Jeff and Matt at the moment. Jeff thought that John's quick thinking would save him from Matt's questioning, but when he got back to his room, things became uncomfortable fast. Matt still wasn't fully buying that John held him up to show him something, given that he had been known to try and come on to Jeff. Last night before his match, Jeff had told his brother that he had cleared things up with John Morrison "well enough." Matt, though suspicious, had bought it, and Jeff did well to remind him of this again upon returning to their room after his latest episode with John.

Matt had since accepted that he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of Jeff, so he reluctantly let the matter settle. This had created something of a tension between them. Jeff hated it. He didn't want to lie to Matt, but he also didn't want to rat out John. But at the same time, there was no way he could keep things from Matt forever. Or even Beth, for that matter.

Oh yes, and then there was Beth. Jeff loved her dearly and knew that he would never leave her for anyone else…but for whatever reason, he was allowing John Morrison to take advantage of him. He simply did not know why.

Matt had long since gone to find Greg before his match. Jeff decided to let him go without him, given the tension between them right now. He could always meet up with Greg later. In the meantime, he needed to relax.

The green room was always stocked with food and refreshments, but since it was less substantial than catering, it was usually pretty empty. Jeff liked being in here when he just wanted some alone time. He was sitting on one of the couches against the wall, feet propped up on the coffee table and reading that day's newspaper. He had gotten himself a bottle of water from one of the coolers, but it remained unopened on the table next to his feet.

Several times, people walked into the room to peruse the food tables and pick at something. They never stayed long. So when someone walked in, stopped at the drinks table and just stood there, Jeff became curious. He glanced over the top of the newspaper to see John Morrison staring at the selections indecisively.

_Figures_, he thought.

He hid his face back behind the paper. John was still showing up wherever he was. He found himself unable to avoid him lately; maybe that was a part of these mind tricks John was playing on him. Despite his guilt, he couldn't help but feel a surge of anger towards him for playing him like this, and also angry at himself for letting him.

"Just so you know," he said, calmly, "if I hadn't been so completely petrified by the fact that you intended to do me, I would have stopped you."

John turned towards him. "Hmm?" He thought for a few seconds. "Oohhh, you're talking about last night. Listen, I was just messing with you."

He didn't want to outright tell Jeff about the game. What would Jeff feel worse about—the fact that John was playing "mind tricks" with him, or that he was using his popularity to boost his own? Or even that he was using him to replace Melina? Jeff was steadily catching on, giving in…He just had to wait a little bit longer.

Jeff lowered the paper again to stare at John incredulously. "Given what you've been doing to me these past few weeks—_months_, if you will—I hope you'll forgive me if I have a hard time believing you. I'd hate for you to think I'm giving in to you."

John smiled. How typical of Jeff Hardy to deny what anyone else tells him. He thought he'd be used to Jeff's stubbornness by now, but then again, that factor made the game that much more challenging, and made Jeff himself that much more irresistible.

"Of course," he replied.

He turned his attention back to the drinks table and decided on a cup of coffee. He had just picked up a styrofoam cup when Jeff spoke again.

"What are you doing in here, anyway?" Jeff asked. "Come to rape me again?"

John laughed softly through his nose. "Now, Jeff, let's not be so brash. We both know it's not rape if you enjoy it."

Jeff brought the newspaper down noisily, staring at John with disbelief. "_What?_" he said. "I don't enjoy—!"

"You don't stop me when I make moves on you," John said, shrugging. "What am I supposed to think?"

Jeff shook his head. "You're a twisted bastard."

John smirked. "If you say so."

He went to fill the styrofoam cup with coffee. Jeff uncrinkled the newspaper and started reading it again, thoroughly flustered. About a minute passed and still John had not left the room. Jeff looked up again and he was stirring creamer into his coffee.

"What are you really doing here?" he asked.

John took a sip of his beverage. "I'm fighting tonight—did you even read the schedule I sent you?" He wandered over to the couch and put his coffee down on the table. "Just thought I'd get coffee first."

He tore the newspaper out of Jeff's hands and threw it aside before jumping on to the couch, one leg on either side of Jeff. He grabbed Jeff's face with both hands and kissed him while Jeff was still temporarily stunned. Jeff's hands were still frozen in the air as if still holding the paper, and he flailed them a little before regaining enough strength and sense to shove John off of himself.

"You call _that_ getting coffee?" Jeff gasped, one hand on his chest.

John casually picked up his cup of coffee. "Well, you know what coffee is a euphemism for. You just pushed me off before I could get it." He took a sip from the cup. "This'll do for now, I guess. See you around, Jeff."

He smirked visibly at Jeff before crossing the room and walking out through the door. Jeff gaped after him, still blank. After several long seconds, he reached for his bottle of water and opened it with a slightly shaking hand. He drank a good quarter of the bottle, but not to get John's taste out of his mouth. John's words had left him feeling dry and shamed; he was right. He _hadn't_ been trying to stop John's advances lately. He was feeling guilty for making a slur at and punching John, and John was taking advantage of that.

Jeff didn't know why he was letting him.

Jeff wasn't in to the Divas. Everyone knew it, and though he occasionally heard rumors of various Divas liking him, no one pushed him about it. Someone once asked him if he had ruled out Divas, did he also rule out everyone else. Jeff hadn't answered; he thought that person was just dicking him around, and simply didn't know who else there was. On occasion, Jeff would go back to that question and deliberate on it. A wild answer once crossed his mind, but he pushed it aside, saying it was positively absurd.

That answer was "Superstars."

It didn't seem so absurd anymore.

End Chapter 4

Sorry for the long update. My friends and work seem persistent on keeping me busy enough to keep me from uploading.  
I think Jeff and Randy are friends. I've seen pics of them on the interwebs where they're checking in at a hotel together. Not…like_ together_, but…at the same time XD  
Reviews, please, and I'll try to have the next (and final) chapter up soon!


	5. Finding Closure

I AM SO, SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY. A lot of ugly drama went down between now and the last update, both personal and work-related, which I won't get into here. Work and school have and continue to keep me busy. If you haven't yet given up on me, you are my favorite forever. Wow, I'm terrible. Okay, moving on.  
**Warnings: **It might be a little angsty in the beginning/middle, but the end will be totally fluff. Language, and such.  
**Disclaimers:** I still don't own WWE, its Superstars, or am in any way affiliated with them. Please be nice to me, Jeff and John. I love you guys.  
**Notes:** last chapter! I may write something else with this pairing; I really do like it. Did you know I actually started writing this story in the back of my government/politics notebook? I was waiting for my classroom to open, so I just sat outside and started writing. Lo and behold, it actually turned in to something.  
**To my readers: **Thanks so much for the reviews! I can't believe how much attention this story has gotten and how many of you have stuck by me through this experience. Thank you all for reading.  
**Reviews and Critique:** yes please! As a departing gift, perhaps?  
Enjoy!

**Chapter 5: finding closure**

Jeff hated having relationship talks with Beth. This was mainly because he never thought the level of trust they had in each other would deteriorate so much that they would actually have to sit down and talk about it. He liked to think that he had a strong and secure relationship with this incredible woman he would never stop loving because he truly believed that's what it was. And as far as he knew, that's what she thought too.

Well, maybe up until now.

But maybe this was a good thing. Matt mentioned that Beth thought he was hiding something from her. She was always sharp, he'd give her that. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hide the John Morrison Situation from her forever, but he also knew that she respected his space. This could be his solution—just get it out and done with.

Easier said than done.

They had talked a few days ago while he was at tapings. She had reminded him that he could tell her anything, and he said he didn't know where to start.

He should have known that she wasn't going to let it go.

"Start _some_where," she said once he got home.

"_Where?_" he replied. Words eluded him. It probably wouldn't have been that big of a deal if Beth knew that John Morrison was trying to seduce him. What he didn't want her to know more than anything else, was that it was very nearly working. John had already kissed him on three separate occasions. He had practically _let_ him. How was he supposed to tell her _that_?

He ended up just telling her that a coworker was harassing him. He didn't tell her who; she probably already knew anyway. It wasn't a lie, but it was still hiding the crucial details from her. After constructing a story around it, convincing her that this was the reason he was so edgy and harried lately, she seemed satisfied enough to leave the conversation at that for the time being. Was she completely convinced? Probably not, but at this point, Jeff was just going to take what he could get.

Beth went upstairs, leaving Jeff where he was. Matt emerged from the adjoining room shortly after.

"How did it go?" he asked.

Jeff took a few moments before replying. "Well enough."

"Where is she?"

"Went upstairs. To calm down or something…"

Jeff was sitting in his favorite chair. He was bent forward with his elbows on his knees and one hand on his head. Matt came over and sat in the chair next to him.

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing she didn't already know."

"Maybe you should reconsider that."

"I'll work it out," Jeff said, firmly.

Mat was silent for a several seconds. "Do you mean to cut things off with John completely now?"

Jeff straightened up, gaping slightly. He actually hadn't considered it. After all the stress that John had put him through, the strain it had put on him and his relationship…he had never actually considered severing things with John.

"I-I don't know," he replied, unsure. "It would be kind of hard, since we work together and all…"

"Just talk to the bosses, I'm sure they can keep him out of your storylines," Matt said. "You don't even have to rat him out if you don't want to. It could be for the better."

_Yeah, it probably would_, thought Jeff.

"I'll think about it."

**.xXx.**

Beth walked with them to the car. Matt was loading suitcases into the trunk and Jeff was standing by the passenger's-side door, arms wrapped around his girlfriend. She seemed much more at ease now that she and Jeff had gotten around to talking, even though she wasn't completely satisfied with the answers he had given her. Whatever Jeff had told her, she seemed to be buying it—for the most part, anyway. He promised he would call as soon as they checked into their hotel, and also that he would call if any coworkers started giving him crap again.

Of course he would; that's what good boyfriends do.

Matt was already sitting in the driver's seat by the time Jeff and Beth were wrapping up. He kissed her good-bye, like he always did, but then he paused. Something didn't feel right. It deeply unsettled him.

Disturbed, Jeff pulled away from Beth's hold.

"Gotta go," he said, smiling quickly. "Call you when we touch down. Love you, babe."

Before she can so much as say anything, or even before she could read any of the concern on his face, he turned around and got into the car. He managed to avoid eye contact as Matt backed out of the driveway by busying himself with his seatbelt and carry-on bag.

For Jeff, he was uncertain of one thing, and that was the reason as to why kissing his girlfriend of ten years felt wrong. But for what it was worth, he _was_ certain of something: he wanted two things. The first thing he wanted was to get away from Beth as fast as possible. The second thing he wanted was to find John Morrison and break his fucking face.

**.xXx.**

Jeff almost didn't want to go to work. He wanted to check into his hotel and just stay there. He very nearly felt sick enough to call in and take the night off. What was happening with Beth was making him sick, but what was happening with John was making him sick even more so.

He didn't know why kissing Beth felt wrong all of a sudden. He had been able to kiss her as normal up until this point, even through his ordeal with John. As far as he knew, there was no explanation. Could it be that the stress had made Jeff distance himself from Beth? Maybe her incessant line of questioning and worry had put him off, or the guilt of being unable to tell her the truth had made him want to avoid her?

No. He would never avoid her, and never want to. He pushed the thought from his mind as he and Matt walked into the arena's backstage area. Once inside, Matt went to go see if their friend Greg Helms had checked in yet and Jeff continued on to their dressing room, contemplating every other reason he could think of for the sudden distance between himself and Beth. Along the way, he spotted John Morrison standing in the hallway talking to a stagehand.

And then it hit him.

Not too long ago, John had kissed him with a passion that bordered the line of violence, and he had let it happen. For whatever reason, John kissing him had sparked in him a kind of thrill, an excitement that he had never experienced before. Beth never kissed him like that, and having John kiss him and elicit such emotions in him made kissing Beth now seem wrong.

The stagehand was leaving and Jeff was advancing on him. He would have jumped him even if the stagehand were still there; he didn't care. He just did not fucking care. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had two fistfuls of John's shirt and he was throwing him against the wall.

John would have said something, but the force of hitting the wall knocked the wind out of him. Instead, he could only stare open-mouthed at Jeff, who was glaring right back at him, nearly shaking with rage.

"What the hell have you done to me?" Jeff shouted.

Curiously, John raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play innocent with me, you bastard," Jeff snapped. "You know exactly what I mean! I mean _this!_ _All_ of this! Whatever it is you're doing to me, because I know you're doing _something!_"

"Jeff—."

"I can't even kiss my own girlfriend anymore!"

John's eyes widened a little in surprise, firstly at what Jeff had said, and secondly at how quickly Jeff's expression had changed from anger to pain. For a while, he was too stunned to say anything. Neither of them said anything, and Jeff continued to stand there, still with two fistfuls of John's shirt and the look of utmost hurt and confliction on his face. John's heart nearly ripped in half just at the sight of it.

Someone saw them. Neither of them knew who it was; they weren't paying attention and they didn't care. But whoever it was, he must have mistaken the confrontation for a scuffle and jumped in to pull Jeff away from John. Jeff didn't resist the man, and as soon as he was off of John, he was storming away, continuing on to his dressing room without a word or so much as a backwards glance.

John stared after him for a while, replaying the scene in his head. He knew he was dating Beth and that they had been dating for quite some time now. When Jeff had been in his hotel room and he had him pinned to the bed, he asked him "What about Beth?" John had been so caught up in the moment that he barely registered that Beth was his girlfriend and just dismissed her. He knew Jeff was dating her, but when he started this game, he never once considered her or the consequences.

He didn't know how to feel.

_John Morrison, what have you done?_

**.xXx.**

After the show ended, Jeff didn't wait for Matt. He sent his brother a text to let him know that he was going back to the hotel by himself and that he would wait for him there. Undoubtedly Matt would want to hit the town with some friends, and Jeff did not feel up to joining them at all. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically. He had won his scheduled match, but was so unfocused that he nearly ruined the taping session. He managed to bypass officials asking him what the hell happened out there by hiding in his dressing room for a while, and then making a bee-line for the door once the coast was clear.

He just wanted to avoid everyone. But he knew that sooner later, he would have to go back home to Beth. _That_ he couldn't avoid.

And as it would seem, he also couldn't avoid John Morrison.

Whether or not John planned all of these convenient interceptions, he didn't know, but it almost seemed to uncanny not to be true. Jeff was on his way to the parking lot using the less-traveled back-route when John walked through the door. From the looks of it, he was just arriving for a bit of post-show training with R-Truth. He wasn't in tonight's episode, yet he was walking in to the arena with a duffle bag over his shoulder.

John sure had a knack for showing up everywhere he went.

Once John walked through the door, Jeff stopped walking. John closed the door behind him and looked up to see Jeff standing in the middle of the hallway staring at him. Intrigued, John let a grin break ever so slightly across his face as he began walking towards Jeff. Jeff held his ground. John could feel the heat from Jeff's smoldering glare as he neared him, and stopped walking several feet away from him.

This was what he wanted, there was no denying that. John had started this game with one thing in mind: play off of Jeff's popularity status to boost himself into the spotlight. He needed to gain his trust and cooperation if he was going to succeed, and to an extent, he did. Feuding with the Hardys, and eventually partnering with them got him the face-time he wanted. But Jeff was resistant. He had been fighting it the whole time. Jeff was letting John use him, even though he knew that it wasn't in his best interest. Jeff was letting John emotionally tear him apart.

John had found the need to get inside of Jeff's head to see through the success of the game, but what of the romantic aspects of it? He had come so far, and Jeff had gone along with him, it almost seemed like he was too far in to stop now. In truth, he was surprised at how far Jeff had let him come. Despite all of Jeff's yelling at him and all of his threats, he never once reported him to management. Now that he thought about it, Jeff's been a real good sport about this whole thing.

Maybe it was time to wrap things up.

"Jeff, I—," John started.

"Shut. Up."

John was taken aback at the force of Jeff's words. He immediately silenced himself.

"You're a son of a bitch, you know that?" Jeff said, fury underlying his voice. "I really could care less what you're doing with your career and what you do to get yourself ahead. You can do whatever you want with yourself, and even with me for that matter, as long as you keep my personal life out of it."

John stared at him. Did he just say what he thought he did? Jeff had picked up on the spotlight-grabbing aspect of the game, but it was possible he still didn't know why.

"You know damn well as anyone else that I have a girlfriend," Jeff continued. "I've been with her for a long time, and I plan on being with her for a long time more. I love her more than anything, and nothing you say to me or do to me will change that. However I react to all of your mind games and advances, I don't care what you think about it. As long as you know, and I know you do, that nothing, _nothing_ you do will _ever_ make me stop loving her."

And now it's come to this. Jeff now thought that John was trying to steal him away from Beth? That was _not_ at all what John had in mind. Jeff was so close, yet so far from the truth. John had no intention of stealing Jeff from anyone, but could he blame him for thinking that? What with everything he had been doing lately, he might as well have been trying to do just that. All he wanted to do was mess with him, to have the fun and excitement that Melina couldn't give him. But that wasn't the original intent of the game. When he accomplished the original goal, to gain spotlight and popularity, he kept dragging the game out when he should have left it where it was. He was in way too deep, and didn't know why.

John looked away from Jeff. "I know."

Jeff expression didn't change.

John was quickly becoming frustrated. He was frustrated at himself for getting way in over his head, for letting himself endanger his own career for a thrill, for inadvertently trying to tear apart two people who were more in love than he would ever know. Jeff's anger was only fueling this frustration.

"Jeff, I never meant for Beth to get mixed up in this—."

"Then what _did_ you mean for?"

"I—."

"Did you accomplish it? Are you _happy_ with what you've done?"

"No, Jeff, it—."

"Do you _realize_ what you've done?"

"I never meant for any of this to happen!"

"_What did you mean to happen?_"

"To use you and be done!" John shouted.

Then there was silence. Jeff's expression slackened. John probably would have been horrified at what he had just let slip if he weren't already brimming on the edge of anger. It took a while for either of them to find their composure again.

"You know," Jeff said, much more gently now, "there was a time when I thought you actually genuinely cared. When Vince was dragging me through hell and Punk screwed up my neck, I thought you cared. I respected you for the MNM feud, because it was good for ratings. Through all of the years, it seemed like you cared about the business. It seemed like you cared about _me_. But you know? It's good to know that you didn't. All you cared about was _manipulating_ me for your own personal gain. And you did that, and you got what you wanted, didn't you? But you just kept going, dragging my mental health and personal relationship into your twisted web, just because you _could_. You are the most selfish, heartless bastard I have ever known, and I'm an idiot for having ever fallen for it."

The hurt was back in Jeff's eyes, but it wasn't the hurt of betrayal or disappointment. It looked more like…the hurt of losing someone he cared for. Jeff had given in to the spotlight-grabbing aspect of the game. Had he also been about to give in to the romantic aspect?

Jeff turned to walk away, and he had taken so much as three steps before John went after him. He grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around and embraced him. Stunned, Jeff just stood there with his arms half-raised, still too angry to return the gesture but numb enough to let John hug him.

"I never wanted to hurt you," John whispered. "I would have stopped if I didn't think you liked what I was doing."

Jeff was taken aback by his words. _This was my fault…_ he thought. _I let this happen._

His heart was being torn in half by the confusion of emotions happening all through his body. He wanted to be angry at John, to blame him for everything that's gone wrong. He wanted to be angry at himself for letting it happen and for being too stupid and weak to resist him. How paranoid had he been, how restless and distressed, how much sleep had he lost, how many fights he had almost gotten into with Beth, and he could have stopped it all.

Back when he was still feuding with MNM, he had heard it said that Johnny Nitro had a strategic and methodical plan for everything he did. Well…they were right. And once again, he had gotten one over on Jeff Hardy.

With a shaking hand, Jeff slowly reached up and grabbed a handful of John's shirt and pulled him away. John took a step back and Jeff was staring at him with eyes that burned.

"John," Jeff said, "you're a fucking asshole."

John didn't look at him. There was nothing for him to say.

When Jeff regained strength in his legs, he left. Jeff was still numb, and found himself stumbling away more than he was storming away. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to be _furious _at John. But how could he?

His head hurt.

_Everything_ hurt.

**.xXx.**

A few days later, Jeff got his medical results in the mail.

The last time he and Beth had an argument about work and his health, they managed to resolve it. Part of that resolution required Jeff to get himself checked out. Jeff was reluctant, but ultimately did it to please Beth. He wasn't so sure the results would please _him_, though. But considering what John had been putting him through, the check-up and the results were the least painful parts about what was wrong.

He indeed had a neck injury, but that he already knew. But it turned out he also had restless leg syndrome and two herniated disks in his lower back. He sighed, staring at the piece of paper in his hand. What would this mean, now? He would probably have to leave the WWE for a while.

But…was that a bad thing?

"What's that?" Beth asked, walking over to the table.

"Here," Jeff said, handing it to her. Beth took the results from him and looked it over. As she read more of it, she started to bite her lip. When she finished, she looked up at him.

"Oh, Jeff…" she breathed. "What now?"

"Well, I have to share this with the bosses," Jeff said, taking the paper back. "I'll probably have to take a break for a while, and then get all of _this_ fixed." He held up the results page. "I shouldn't be out for too long."

Beth nodded. "And, have you made up your mind about…?"

He knew what she was talking about. "I think so."

**.xXx.**

It was August of 2009 and Jeff was leaving the WWE. His contract with the company was expiring, and he figured that this was as good a time as any to get his injuries dealt with. He planned on taking as much time as necessary to heal his injuries before returning to the ring. It was to make Beth happy.

Word had a way of getting around quickly in the WWE. Any gossip that concerned a high-ranking Superstar like Jeff Hardy had a way of getting around even faster. So it wasn't soon before people found out about Jeff's contract status, his injuries, and that he was leaving the WWE. It also somehow got out that when Jeff recovered from his injuries and eventually returned to the ring, he would be returning to TNA.

He had been thinking about it for a while, and for the longest time Beth and Matt were the only ones that knew. The WWE had tried their hardest to hold on to him, offering him a special contract where he wouldn't have to work house shows. These contracts were rarely ever offered or even carried through with, but Jeff was adamant about his decision. Many people within the company were shocked by this, firstly that Jeff was leaving for TNA, secondly that he was leaving at all, and thirdly that the WWE had offered him such a contract and that he actually turned it down.

CM Punk hadn't exactly relented on the in-ring intensity during their matches, but did start to show Jeff a little more respect and gratitude backstage. During television tapings of Smackdown, the two of them would go out and raise hell. Jeff would pay for it physically, but the fans loved it and he knew that he would be able to take time off to rest soon and decided to push himself for all he was worth. Backstage, Punk commended him on his years of exceptional work in the WWE and thanked him for the opportunity to partake in such an engaging and climactic storyline. For all that Punk had put him through in the ring, Jeff couldn't tell if the man hated him or not. It was almost like dealing with the Johnny Nitro storyline again. Jeff didn't have much to say, so he shook Punk's hand and thanked him as well.

Feelings about Jeff's impending departure were mixed. Most people were happy for Jeff, that he was taking some much needed time off and that he was moving forward with his career. Others were devastated. John Morrison was among them.

At this time, John found himself compromised by news of Jeff's departure. He simply did not know what to do. He hadn't finished the game yet—he had gotten close, but things fell apart before he could finish. But what exactly entailed "finishing" this game anyway? Well, that he wasn't quite sure.

It didn't take long for him to decide that the game _was_ over after all. He had essentially gotten what he wanted, which was to use Jeff's popularity to boost his own. He had more than succeeded in that. The rest had just been for fun. But who was it fun for? He couldn't believe himself for having been so selfish. While he was having the time of his life basking in the spotlight and manipulating a helpless man just for the satisfaction of being able to, Jeff had suffered for it. He had become paranoid and upset, getting in to fights with his brother and girlfriend. The game had taken a visible toll on Jeff's health. John cared about Jeff, but how could he have let this go on for so long if he really had cared about him?

There was no sense in keeping this up. It wasn't worth it to keep tormenting Jeff for the rest of his stay. For however long Jeff had left in the WWE, John wanted it to be an enjoyable stay. And that meant no meddling.

For the next few weeks, John avoided Jeff. Well, it's not like he could avoid him _completely. _He _did_ work with him after all. The creative team had since decided to take John down a different storyline, while they would be playing up Jeff's feud with Punk. Word had it that CM Punk was going to be the one who would send Jeff home for good.

John just hoped he was nice about it.

And of course Jeff noticed this. This was probably the first time in _months_ that John had given him any personal space. It happened so abruptly, he felt like something was missing. It didn't take him long to figure out that John was dodging him. And at first, it baffled him. He had thought that John _liked_ tormenting and messing with him. If anything, he thought that his impending departure from the company would prompt John to harass him even more up until he left. This sudden change in space was almost…abnormal.

John noticed something, too. While he had been doing his damned best to leave Jeff alone for the last few weeks of his stay, he still couldn't completely get away from him. Jeff still turned up almost wherever he went, and for once, John himself wasn't instigating it. Was Jeff _following_ him?

There were of course times where John just couldn't help himself. The man looked so lost and confused, and so damned irresistible. It made him remember why he had been so intrigued by him in the first place. Sometimes when the halls were particularly crowded and the two men were passing each other, they would squeeze past each other and John would lean in towards Jeff as close as he dared. He had no intention to kiss him, but lord knows he wanted to. He would touch his forehead to Jeff's and bite his lip to keep from kissing him, and then they'd be on their separate ways. The chaos and busy hustle around them ensured that no one saw them.

It was better that way.

There was something missing in Jeff's life, and he could not figure it out. As far as he knew, there was no reason to feel this way—he had a great life. He had a great job, he would be moving into another great job soon, and he had a caring brother and a loving girlfriend. But something was missing from his life. But it wasn't like he didn't have a great life _before_. He had always been comfortable with where he was, but conflict started to arise when he started working with Johnny Nitro (whether he wanted to or not). Things had certainly changed when Johnny happened to him, he couldn't deny that. Whether or not things had changed for the better, he didn't know. But it seemed now like John had made a lasting impact on him indeed, and the one thing he was missing now was closure.

Too much happened between him and John to just let it go, especially now that John was outright ignoring him. Jeff wanted to understand why he was doing this, but found himself too distraught to form a conclusion. The expiration of his contract was nearing, and he hadn't spoken to John in weeks. John hadn't made a move on him, tried to kiss him, tried to get into his head and mess with his mental health…and after so many months of enduring it, to suddenly quit cold turkey was…_hard_.

It bothered him. A lot.

He didn't want to admit it. He hated himself for admitting it, but he had gotten so attached to a man he hated so much for nearly ruining his life. When he left the WWE, he'd be leaving behind everything of his past—all of his storylines, his legacy, his friends and coworkers…

And John.

It was a good thing. _Really_.

**.xXx.**

Jeff's last match in the WWE was a "Loser Leaves Town" cage match with CM Punk. By now, word had leaked to the fanbase that Jeff's contract was expiring, but they still rooted and cheered for him as he and Punk tore it up for several intense back-and-forth minutes. Everyone knew how the match was going to end, but that didn't keep the tears from flowing when Punk sent Jeff home.

It was a tough moment. As Punk stood victorious on the outside of the cage and gloated his victory, Jeff sat in the middle of the ring, truly heartbroken. He had just lost his last match in the WWE. Perhaps the storyline leading up to his departure could have been better, but honestly there was no better wrestler he would have wanted to have end his career.

Of course, that didn't mean he would _never_ return to the WWE. He just wanted a change of pace for a while. And now he had time off to heal up. As he sat there and the fans chanted his name, he soaked in their adoration and the glory they had given him, but damn…he _hurt_.

He was _swamped_ by Superstars and Divas once he made it backstage. On one hand, he loved having the chance to say goodbye to all of them and to hear their thoughts on his career and thank him for the opportunity to work with him. And on the other hand, he really just wanted to leave. It was getting harder to leave just from seeing all of them at once, and his body was aching something fierce. But he couldn't just blow them off—this was probably the last time he was going to see them.

Although, the one person he didn't want to see was John Morrison.

He still didn't know how to feel about that man. But one thing for sure, it was probably best if they did not cross each other on his way out. John had put him through some tough times, but he had to hand it to him—John had really helped him to open his eyes to new things, to discover parts of himself he never knew were there and to push himself in ways he never thought possible. John had hurt him as much as he had helped him. But that still didn't excuse him for being a manipulative bastard.

Jeff hated him. But he also kind of didn't.

When Jeff finally got back to the lockerroom, he found Matt waiting for him. The first thing Matt did was hug him and commend him on a great match.

"Thanks, Matt," he said.

"Bet you just want to get the hell out of here, huh?" Matt said with a grin.

Jeff couldn't help but laugh. "You got it."

"How do you feel?"

"Numb," Jeff answered. "Physically and mentally. My body hurts, but it also hurts me to know that I'm done with the WWE."

"Well, not forever," Matt said. "You know Vince would take you back. You're good for business, and you know how Vince is about that."

"Yeah, I do," Jeff said. "But lord, I am going to enjoy my time off."

"I know Beth would appreciate it too," Matt said. He slapped him on the arm and started grabbing their bags.

"Yeah, she would," Jeff said. "Look, I'm probably going to run into some more people on my way out and I don't want to hold you up, so why don't you go on ahead and bring the car around? I'll meet up with you, okay?"

"Sounds good," Matt replied. "See you in a little bit."

Matt left the lockerroom and Jeff heaved a heavy sigh. It would be a few minutes before Matt came around with the car. It was a few minutes that Jeff would finally have to himself. He wished Matt hadn't brought Beth up. He still loved her madly, but felt a stab of guilt every time he thought of her, and the fact that this was not entirely John's fault. He felt guilty for doing everything he did with John, for letting John do those things to him, and for the idea that he would actually miss John when he left. He didn't want to miss him. He wanted to hate him. He wanted to, but…

Jeff finished packing his bag. There was nothing left now but to make a break for the parking lot. He cracked open the dressing room door and took a peek out into the hallway. He felt stupid for checking to make sure the coast was clear, but he didn't want to run into anyone else on his way out. He just wanted to be in his own bed in his own home and _rest_. The halls were empty. The other Superstars must have already left, or were probably gathered somewhere for post-show celebrations. He figured the timing wasn't going to get any more perfect, so he grabbed his bag, scanned the room one last time, and then headed out.

He took his usual route to the parking lot. Usual as of late, anyway. It was the back route that Superstars took to avoid interacting with fans, and Jeff had found that he'd been using his route a lot in recent attempts to avoid John. He wasn't quite sure he kept using this route—it hadn't proved very successful in the past.

And didn't prove very successful now.

"So that's it? You're going to leave, just like that?"

Jeff cringed. He turned around slowly, but avoided eye contact. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid, but he never could avoid this man, could he?

"My contract expired, John, what do you want me to do?" Jeff sighed.

John felt panicked. He wanted Jeff to stay. He never finished the game, but to hell with that. He cared about this man more than he should, and he wasn't sure what he'd do without him. He was just so appealing, so enticing, so perfectly curious and hard-to-get. He had never encountered anyone like Jeff, and he felt like losing Jeff would be like losing the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him.

"They couldn't get you to stay, huh?" he said. "I heard they offered you a 'no house shows' contract. And you actually turned it down? Maybe you're not aware, but that's a pretty sweet deal."

Jeff sighed, becoming increasingly frustrated. He had been trying to avoid this kind of confrontation, and especially with John. All he wanted was to leave and be rid of this man that had almost ruined his life. "You know, I _really_ need the time off to heal my injuries."

"But then to jump ship to TNA…" John said. "You've just accomplished so much here in WWE. This is where you became a legend. I thought you _liked_ it here." He turned his head away slightly, and very softly said, "With me…"

"_What?_" Jeff snapped. He hadn't even taken the time to pause and absorb his words. The incredulity had stunned him. "Why on earth would I want to stay here with _you_? After all that you did to me? After what you put me through? You fucking _used_ me!"

John didn't look at him. "Only in the beginning."

Jeff gaped. Memories of their recent encounters came back to him. Yes, this man had mentally tormented him in their early feuding days, and even more so following the downfall of MNM. Then again, Jeff could not deny that he was also partially to blame. He had let John mess with him as they both pushed their own boundaries. Even through all of the mind games, he could sense that John cared about him, especially during the height of his feud with CM Punk. Jeff had really learned a lot about himself through this ordeal. Yet he couldn't help but feel like John had only treated him as his new play-thing to keep him entertained after he lost his tag team and championship gold, but there was a sincerity in his eyes during the last week that hadn't been there before. Whenever they encountered each other, John had looked at him with a kind of pain and remorse.

_Remorse_.

John cared about him. He cared enough to stop using him when he learned of Jeff's contract expiration.

John had used him. But Jeff wasn't angry.

"I'm sorry," Jeff said, softly. "I have to go."

He turned and pushed open the door slightly. He could see the parking lot, now. It was quiet and dimly lit. The other Superstars had probably headed out by now, and five minutes ago, Jeff was dying to be one of them. Just minutes ago, he was aching to get back home and to leave this place, to avoid all contact from people who were about to become his past. But now he had the opportunity and he was _hesitating_. He stood there, the door partially open, freedom awaiting him on the other side, and he couldn't move. There was a knot in his chest, an emptiness. The feeling that he was missing something.

Closure.

Jeff let the door close as he set his bags down before turning around and walking straight at John. John hadn't wanted to watch Jeff leave, so his head was still turned, and only when Jeff placed his hand on the side of his face did he realize that he was still here. Jeff turned John's face towards him and then, without pressuring or daring himself at all, very gently kissed John Morrison. John was initially shocked by this act, but there was a genuine kindness in it. John grabbed a handful of Jeff's shirt sleeve and placed his other hand on the back of Jeff's head. There was almost an urgency in the way he responded to the kiss. This would be the last time he'd touch him for a while.

Or maybe ever.

It pained him.

When they finally broke apart, they just stared at each other. Jeff was surprised, not only at what he just did, but also at how much he realized he would actually miss this man. There were so many things he wanted to tell him. John may have made his life more difficult than he could handle for a while, but he also helped him more than he wanted to admit. He wanted John to know that he was glad that his last run in the WWE was with him.

Somehow, he was sure he knew.

"Goodbye," Jeff said. No other words came to him.

"Bye," John said. It was all he could manage.

Without another word or another glance back, Jeff picked up his bags and walked out of the arena for the last time. John, having no further purpose in the now empty hallway, walked back to his lockerroom to carry on the mundane and everyday kind of life he had before he had Jeff Hardy. He was glad for the closure. Jeff wasn't the only one who needed it.

When Jeff entered the parking lot, he found Matt waiting for him with the car idling. He threw his things into the trunk before joining Matt in the front seat.

"_There_ you are," Matt said as Jeff shut the door. "What took you so long?"

"Got held up," Jeff said simply. "Had to say goodbye to a few people."

"Did you see Morrison?"

Jeff paused. "Yeah. I did."

"Well that's nice," Matt said as they started to drive out of the parking lot. "Did you two finally patch things up?"

Jeff looked back towards the arena and smiled. "I'd say so."

"Good for you," Matt said. "I wouldn't have wanted you guys to end on bad terms."

Jeff smiled. "Me neither."

End Chapter 5  
End "Nothing Casual"

So, that's it. This update took me way longer than I thought it would. Again, I'm sorry about that, but I hope the chapter made up for the wait!  
Please review the story and give me your overall thoughts on it. I would love to hear them!  
And now…off to finish my other story I haven't updated in forever. Feel free to drop by and give my other stuff a read.  
Until then ;) -MLCP


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